Solo
by Sookie Manoso
Summary: The last two words Ranger said before going in the wind made Stephanie Plum take a hard look at her life and she didn't love what she saw. It's time for her to take control and make some changes. My first fanfic, please review!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I own nothing that you recognize. It's JE's world I just play in it. **

**Also, I've done a little revising to this story. Thank you all for your support! Especially since this is my first story.**

Chapter 1

Steph's POV

My eyes snapped open.

Someone was in my apartment. I was pretty sure I knew who it was, but I've gotten a few surprise visitors over the years and they weren't good surprises. I threw myself towards my night table where I kept the stun gun waving it manically.

"Glad to see you're aware of your surroundings babe. But let me guess, the actual gun is unloaded in the cookie jar," said the familiar voice, his dark figure leaning again the door frame to my bedroom.

I clearly wasn't going to admit that so I just changed the subject. "Well you're either here because my bed has been empty for too long or you're going into the wind. I'm hoping it's the first but have a feeling it's the second," I said echoing his promise of months earlier.

I was really really hoping it was the first, but I knew better. Not to mention Ranger's had plenty of opportunity to be in my bed lately and hasn't even come close to making a move. _What's up with that? How come whenever I'm dating someone he's all over me and as soon as I'm single he backs off? Stupid man! Damn he makes no sense._

"Babe," was the only answer I received.

I sighed.

Even though we've done nothing physical, Ranger Manoso has been opening up to me more and more these past three months but somehow I feel like we're about to take a giant step back. My off and on boyfriend, Joe Morelli, and I finally ended it for good three months ago. After so much back and forth we actually sat down like adults and had a real conversation about what we wanted instead of just screaming and slamming doors.

Joe wants a house wife, a traditional marriage and a traditional wife. I love my job. I'm a bounty hunter who has now started working part-time for Ranger's security company, RangeMan. I love everything about being in this line of work and I don't want to give it up. Joe hates my job and all the baggage (aka Ranger and his Merry Men) that comes with it. We realized that we were at an impasse and it was time to end it so we could both have a shot at being happy.

The first month was brutal; I had real feelings for Joe. We recently started hanging out casually as friends about once a week and it's been surprisingly easy. We really care about each other and I genuinely want Joe to be happy. He even started dating a nurse named Amber and they seem happy. It's still early and I've only met her once but she seems to be a good match for Joe.

Ranger and I have been working as mentor and mentee for well over a year now and somewhere along the line I fell in love. The problem, or should I say one of the many problems, is Ranger doesn't "do relationships."

He has said in the past that his life doesn't lend itself to relationships and that his love comes with a condom not a ring. He's romantic like that.

On the other hand, he has loaned me cars when I've needed them, given me a job which I probably don't deserve, he's protected me, supported me, encouraged me and I think even killed for me although I'll never have the guts to ask. He is the most honorable man I've ever met and I value his friendship more than anything in this world. I've just never told him.

"Babe," Ranger said again. I realized I've just been standing on my bed just staring at him, lost in thought. I climbed off the bed and tried to gather my thoughts and say something coherent.

"I know you can't tell me where you're going, but do you know how long you'll be gone?" I asked.

"Hopefully no more than six months," he replied.

"That's a long time," I said quietly looking at the floor. He took two full strides toward me and tilted my chin up so that I was looking him in the eyes.

"Gonna miss me?" he was giving me a wolf grin. _God this man's beautiful._

"Of course, please be safe. Don't get shot," I said giving him a small smile.

"Don't go too crazy," he said giving me his usual reply.

_Shit. I just need to say it. What happens if something happens to him and I never said it? _

He leaned in and kissed me. My toes curled as my arms went around him pulling him as close to me as possible. I inhaled his scent and melted into him. He broke the kiss and turned to leave.

"Ranger?" I called after him. He stopped and glanced over his shoulder to look at me.

I took a breath and just said it. "I love you."

H eyes met mine and there was a moment of silence heavy with tension. I realized I wasn't breathing.

"I know," he whispered softly. And with that, he turned and I heard the door to my apartment close.

He left me with my mouth hanging open.

_I know?...he said "I know"? I know!_ I felt my anger rising. _I finally put my feelings out there and the response I get is I __FUCKING__ know!_

I wanted to scream.

_What the shit is that!_

Ranger's POV

I loved watching Stephanie Plum sleep.

She looks so beautiful and peaceful when she's sleeping. I needed to see her like this before leaving. This mission was a tough one. All missions are tough but I was really concerned about this one.

I also wanted this to be my last. It was time to focus on my business here. I love my country and have served it faithfully for over ten years. I originally need the money that these missions would provide me to start up my company RangeMan, but now RangeMan is running like a well oiled machine turning a profit ever quarter and growing fast. I'm needed here and I want to be here.

I watched as Steph's eyes snapped open.

I loved that she could sense my presence. I watched her dive for her stun gun and jump to her feet on the bed waving that the stun gun wildly.

"Glad to see you're aware of your surroundings Babe. But let me guess, the actual gun is unloaded in the cookie jar." I said trying not to smile.

"Well you're either here because my bed has been empty for too long or you're going into the wind. I'm hoping it's the first but have a feeling it's the second," Steph said with a small smile.

I wish it was to be in her bed. I remembered our nights together vividly and I thought about them often. I've backed off now that she and the cop were done for good. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to give her what she wants.

"Babe," I replied. I was fighting the urge not to go over to her and spend one last night with her. I didn't have the time. I took a silent breath and regained my control.

She stood on the bed staring at me looking thoughtful but not saying anything.

"Babe," I said again raising an eyebrow. She climbed down from the bed.

"I know you can't tell me where you're going but do you know how long you'll be gone?" she asked.

"Hopefully no more than six months," I replied.

"That's a long time" she said quietly looking at the floor. _Shit._ I hated seeing her sad. I hated that I was the one doing it to her. I walked over and tilted her head so that I could look into her gorgeous blue eyes.

"Gonna miss me?" I asked

"Of course, please be safe. Don't get shot" she said giving me a small smile.

"Don't go too crazy." I said leaning down to kiss her.

I meant for it to be a soft, quick kiss, but once I felt her react, pulling me closer, I felt heat rush through me. I kissed her passionately, pushing my tongue past her lips and listening to her moan as her body melted against mine. I sighed mentally. _If I don't leave now I won't be able to tear myself away_. I broke away and walked briskly toward the door.

"Ranger?" I heard her call. I froze for a fraction of a second. I didn't want to see her eyes. I wouldn't be able to take it. I took another silent breath and looked over my shoulder at her.

"I love you" she said. I felt my heart stop in that moment. _I've been waiting for those words for so long and now I hear them, just when I know it wouldn't be fair to return the sentiment_. I don't know what came over me.

"I know," was all that came out of my mouth before I walked out of her apartment, not looking back at the damage I just caused. I closed the door behind me. _I cannot believe I just fucking did that. _I leaned against her apartment door wanting to bash my head repeatedly.

_I should go back in and take her in my arms. I want to tell her that I love her and that I hate leaving her and I am so sorry if I don't come back but that I have to go. _

_I seriously fucking hate myself right now. _

_I can't do that too her. I decided that I wouldn't even think about pursuing anything until I got back. IF I got back._

I immediately called Tank.

"Yo," he answered.

"Whatever she needs, see to it and take care of her," I ordered.

"Will do boss. Go catch your flight," Tank said easily.

I hung up and saw the black car waiting for me in her parking lot. It was time to focus on what I needed to do and leave Tank and the guys to take care of Stephanie.

_I'll make it up to her when I get back. I swear it. _

Lester's POV

Bobby and I were on our way to the gym at 0600 when Tank called us into his office.

"I need you two to go to Bomber's apartment and check on her. Ranger left last night. I know she's probably going to need our support right now so go check on our girl and report back."

"Yes sir," I replied.

This wasn't going to be pleasant. First off, Steph isn't a morning person, she can be a downright scary bitch in the morning and secondly Ranger dropping the "oh I'm going to be gone for six months" bomb at the last minute probably didn't go well.

I looked at Bobby. He shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck. He's not looking forward to this either. I expect a sea of tears and tissues and some seriously wailing.

_I hate when women cry, I'd rather be shot at._

We pulled up to Steph's apartment building and ran up the stairs. We used one of our handy little tools to pop the lock then lift off the chain.

_She seriously needs betters locks. I have a six year old nephew who could break into this place._

What we found was not what either of us expected. Steph was sitting on her couch in her cute little pj shorts and an open robe with an empty coffee cup on the table. There were no signs of tissues and when she turned to look at Bobby and I there were no signs of crying around her eyes.

_What the fuck was going on?_

"Hey Beautiful," I called out. "What are you doing up so early? Bobby and I thought we were going to have to drag your lazy ass out of bed," I said.

"Couldn't sleep," she answered her voice completely steady.

_Hmmm. _"Shouldn't you be crying or something?" I asked quizzically.

She rolled her eyes at me. "Not all women cry when their upset. We're all individuals and we're all complicated, Les. You would probably know that if you hung out with a woman past the first date," she snapped.

"No thanks," I replied casually.

"Are you sad because Ranger left?" asked Bobby.

"Yeah… and something else… I'm really at a loss here," she said sounding genuinely confused.

Bobby sat down and took her hand "We're here for you. Talk to us," he implored. _Ever the nice guy. _

_What an asshole, if she even knew the shit that came out of his mouth when he wasn't playing the medic roll with her._

She took a breath and finally told us what was going on. "Last night Ranger came to tell me he was leaving for 6 months and I just felt like it should be said, so I told him that I loved him," she said.

I broke into a grin. _It's about time one of them said it. We're all so tired of their weird ass relationship and maybe now that it's been said Ranger will calm the fuck down about this chick and stop freaking out if any of us even tries to hug her_.

Bobby was also smiling at Steph. "Well it's about damn time! Happy for you guys!" he said.

"Hold onto that for a minute," she started as she raised her hand.

"His response was 'I know'… not 'I love you too' or 'we'll talk when I get back.' It was 'I know,'" she explained with a shake of her head.

Bobby's brow wrinkled "Like Han Solo?" he asked.

I almost let out a cackle but was able to suppress it when I saw the confusion on Steph's face.

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

_Uh oh. This was dangerous. _

Bobby looked panicked. _Too late, she'll never let this go. _He's going to have to tell her. We did our silent communication thing and Bobby sighed and rubbed his neck.

"In Empire Strikes Back, you know the Star Wars movie?" she nodded so he continued "when Han Solo is about to get frozen in carbonite, Leia tells him that she loves him and his response was 'I know,'" Bobby explained.

I swear Steph's eye was basically twitching. "You're telling me, that I confessed how I really feel about Ranger and he used a _fucking_ Star Wars quote on me?" she asked.

_Shit, this is going poorly._

"It's more like Empire Strikes Back" Bobby said helpfully.

"You've been "Solo'ed!" I said hoping to break the tension.

It didn't work.

Steph jumped off the couch grabbing the coffee cup off the table and threw it against the wall with a grunt. The coffee cup smashed and we all sat in silence for a minute.

"Feel better Beautiful?" I asked tentatively.

"Slightly," she replied while still staring at the wall where the coffee cup hit.

She turned to look at both Bobby and I. "I'm a fucking joke. That's what this is. I'm a joke. I'm a shitty bounty hunter who lives like a college student. No wonder he didn't take me seriously," she said.

_Shit. I want nothing to do with this_. This is Ranger's fucking problem. Steph is an amazing woman that we're all a little in love with. She works in a building with a bunch of mercenaries and treats us like family. No judgment or fear, it has been a breath of fresh air since she's been at RangeMan.

"We all love you just the way you are," Bobby said while grabbing her shoulders looking her in the eyes.

"That doesn't change the fact that I'm a joke," she replied sinking down into the couch.

"He told me before that I was a line item in his entertainment budget. I guess I've just been ignoring what he's been saying to me all along and thinking actions speak louder than words. I'm such a fucking idiot," she was running her hands through her hair. "And now, I've been Solo'ed! Holy shit this may be the most humiliating thing that's ever happened to me," she said covering her face.

"Worse than rolling in garbage catching skips?" I asked.

That got a Burg glare.

Bobby and I just stood there. Bobby likes to play like he's super sensitive when Steph's around but in all honestly he has no clue how to handle emotional females either.

"Do you want to call in today?" Bobby finally asked breaking the silence.

"Hell no!" she said springing off the couch. "I'm going to change then can I go back with you guys?"

"Yeah Bomber, it's no problem but you don't have to be there till 0900 and its only 0700," Bobby said looking confused.

Hell, I'm sure I had the same expression on.

"I know I need to talk to Tank," she said dashing into her room.

Bobby and I just stared at each other… _maybe this would've been easier if she was crying._

Steph's POV

I waited for the elevator to hit the 5th floor at RangeMan. I was practically bouncing on my toes I was so keyed up. I needed to grow-up and make some changes.

I want to be taken seriously and respected. I know the guys here love me but I want to be more "entertainment," the joke that breaks up the monotony. I wanted to be a contributing member of this team. I want to prove to Ranger, Tank and all the guys that I'm a valuable, capable employee.

I knocked on Tank's door. "Enter," he barked.

"Hey, Tank," I greeted.

"Little Girl, what are you doing here? I figured with Ranger gone you may want a day off before coming back," he said sitting back in his chair.

"No, but thank you. I came here to ask for full time employment at RangeMan. I want to train and become a better bounty hunter. I want to contribute and I can even help you will all the office administrative stuff which I know you hate doing," I said hoping that the idea of less paperwork would be enough for Tank to give me a chance.

Tank was looking at me with a slightly amused expression on his face. "We've made this offer to you before Stephanie and you turned us down. What's different?" he asked.

"I've been Solo'ed Sir and I didn't enjoy it." I admitted.

Tank looked at my quizzically then sighed. "Listen and listen good. If you're actually going to do this, I want a full commitment. I will be holding you to the same responsibilities as they guys which means exercising at appointed times, hand to hand combat training, weapons training and no contraband food in the work place. You will be picking up low level skips with your assigned partner at first and then we'll get to higher bonds once you've had proper training and proved yourself. You will be helping with searches still because you are our best researcher and I would greatly appreciate your help with administrative duties," Tank stated.

I nodded that I understood and agreed.

"Alright, the next three months are going to be intense since we require that you are to move into one of the fourth floor apartments for that time. You will eat, breath and sleep RangeMan for this time. There will be a lot of over time. Are you good with that?"

I nodded again "I'm all in Tank, I won't let you down. What should I do with my apartment?" I asked.

"RangeMan will not be charging you rent so you should keep your apartment for those three months and then once the required time is up you can decide if you would like to lease here. I will modify the contract that we last presented to you and have it ready for your review in an hour," he said.

I nodded, thanked Tank and went to work on some searches while he fixed the contract.

Tank's POV

I have no idea what the fuck "Solo'ed" means but I am really interested to see if Little Girl will go the distance. She certainly isn't the most disciplined employee. Hell, if it wasn't for Ranger I probably would have fired her a half dozen times already. But she is without question our best researcher, so maybe I wouldn't have fired her but I'm sure I would've at least written her up.

I picked up the phone and paged Santos. When he sauntered in I asked him to close the door.

"What's up Tank?" he asked.

"I was hoping you could tell me? Bomber is in here asking for training and full time employment and saying she's been Solo'ed?" I inquired.

He chuckled. "It's not funny, but it is. Bomber told Ranger that she loved him and he replied 'I know' just like Han Solo in Empire. She was pretty pissed and now is all sorts of determined. Maybe it's a good thing?" he said with a shrug.

"What the fuck is wrong with Ranger?" I sighed rubbing my eyes.

_He's been in knots over that girl forever and now that he finally gets what he wants he throws it in her face? Well, standing orders are to take care of her and that's what we're going to do._

"Thanks Santos, have Bomber come see me to sign her contact," I said.

"10-4" he replied as he exited.

I finished printing little girl's new contract as she entered.

"Are you sure you're doing this for the right reasons? I just want to make sure you have the proper motivation because once you sign this I'm holding you to your word." I said making sure she knew I was dead serious.

She looked up at me with those big blue eyes blazing "I think I have the best motivation a person could ask for," she replied signing the contract after carefully reviewing.

"Love?" I asked.

"Spite," she said with a grin.

I sighed and handed her key to her new apartment on four.

"Move your stuff and get settled today training begins tomorrow at 0600. Ask Bobby if you need any help he has a light day today," I said.

"Thanks Big Man!" she called over her shoulder as she bounced out of my office.

I leaned back and sighed again. I've done that more in the past 30 minutes then I have in the past three years.

_This woman is going to be the death of all of us._


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Bobby's POV

I drove over to Steph's apartment to help her move into RangeMan. I can't believe she actually signed that contract. I hope she knows what she's doing, she has a tendency to dive into things without much thought.

I let myself in because her lock is a fucking joke and walked toward the bedroom. I leaned against the door frame watching her bend over to throw more clothes in her suitcase.

_Damn, she does have an amazing ass._

"You know you're not going to need seven pairs of heels," I pointed out.

She let out a small yelp as she jumped. "Will you make some noise! You scared the shit out of me," she said.

"You really need a better lock," I replied.

"So I've been told," she muttered.

"Alright, I'm going to pack up your TV and then I'll start bringing your heavy stuff down," I said as I turned to head towards the living room.

"Thanks Bobby!" she called after me.

Steph's POV

My heart finally started to slow. Bobby scared the shit out me.

This move was starting to scare the shit out of me. _Am I really ready for this?_ _All the training? I'm going to have to start carrying my gun. I hate guns. I'm also going to be on borderline lock down for three months with some seriously sexy guys._ My hormones were already hopping up and down just thinking about it.

It's been a long four months since my last sexual encounter and now that Ranger has declared his lack of feelings for me, the guys should be worried about me jumping one of them.

I stopped to watch Bobby bending and lifting things. It's a great sight to see.

Bobby is a little over six feet with short light brown hair and hazel eyes. He has a ridiculous smile which would make any woman weak in the knees. He's like an all American boy/badass. Bobby and the rest of RangeMan Merry Men are in incredible shape and they're all lookers, as my grandmother would say.

Bobby turned around and smiled at me. "Can I help with anything Bomber?"

_Shit._ _He totally caught me staring; at least I'm not drooling…hopefully. _

"Nope! I'm all set to go! Thanks for helping me out," I said hoping that I recovered from getting caught checking out his ass.

"No worries," Bobby said as he threw me a cocky smile. _Okay, he totally knew what I was doing. _

Bobby and I drove the 15 minutes to RangeMan and then he and Lester were nice enough to unload my car and carry all my stuff into my new place one the fourth floor.

"Need anything else Beautiful?" asked Lester.

"Not right now, thank you both for all your help today. I really appreciate it more then you know," I said greatfully.

"Anytime Gorgeous," Bobby said as he took me into his arms and dropped a kiss on my head. Lester also grabbed me and kissed my forehead and then they were both gone.

I unpacked my stuff and tried to breath. I was definitely feeling anxious. I couldn't get the conversation with Ranger out of my head. It kept playing over and over and over again. I just wanted to shut it off. It was only last night but I felt it was a life time ago in some ways. I just felt so different.

Twenty-four hours ago I was chasing skips, contemplating McDonalds for dinner and hoping Ranger would grab me and kiss my behind the bonds office. Now, I'm unpacking my stuff in a new place because I am now a full time employee of one of the best security companies in the country.

The man who I was hoping to be able to steal kisses from was now a world away, possibly getting shot at. Maybe laughing at the stupid woman he "solo'ed" before he left.

My emotions kept jumping from furious to despair. I was furious this morning and now in the quiet of my new place, the despair was really kicking in. The only thing that stayed consistent was the knot firmly placed in my stomach.

I am normally a big eater and am always hungry but even though I hadn't eaten today my appetite was nonexistent.

A knock at the door interrupted me from my thoughts. When I opened it I couldn't suppress the grin even if I tried. "Ella!" I exclaimed.

Ella was Ranger's housekeeper, cook and aunt. She is also what I like to think of as the housemom of Rangman. She keeps the fridges stocked and the guys clothed and most importantly she makes the place feel homey.

"Stephanie! It is so good to see you, I'm so happy you have finally become a full timer! I've brought you these," she said handing my bags of clothes. I looked in and it was Rangman t-shirts, shorts, underwear, sports bras, pairs of black fitted cargo pants, a RangeMan jacket and a pair of black work boots.

"Ella! You shouldn't have done all this! It's too much!" I exclaimed.

"Nonsense! All the boys get this treatment, well except the underwear and sports bras" she said with a grin.

"Thank you, I really mean it. You've always been amazing," I said.

"Stephanie, can I just ask why you are not staying on seven? Ranger told me before he left that if you ever needed a place to stay that you had his permission," she asked. _Eek._ Seven was Ranger's apartment. I stayed there before when I needed to lay low from gang members looking to assassinate me.

"I don't want any special treatment Ella, I'm really ready to prove myself," I replied. _Huh… I actually meant that. I didn't even need to lie! That's EXACTLY what I wanted to do. Prove myself_.

"You have nothing to prove to me! You've always been a good girl and an amazing friend to these boys," she said hugging me. It always made me laugh how these huge scary mercenaries were just "boys" to her. She really was the coolest.

"I have to run now but come to dinner soon!" she said still hugging me.

"I absolutely will!" I promised.

With that Ella left and I spent the rest of the afternoon unpacking. At seven o'clock another knock at the door and this time it was Bobby, Lester, Vince and Ram with pizza and beer! I love when men bring gifts.

"Yo! Bombshell!" yelled Vince grinning at me. "We're here to welcome you to the building and give you tomorrow's breakdown," he explained.

"Bring it!" I said with much more confidence then I felt.

"At 0600 you will be in the gym with Bobby and I," said Lester grinning at me and shooting me a dangerous look with his bright green eyes.

Vince spoke up next. "At 0800 you will have an hour to change and eat and then you will be meeting Ram and me at the shooting range for an hour and then an hour of other weapons training. You are then to report to Tank for searches and administrative work. At 1500 you will be meeting down in the gym for hand to hand combat training," he said.

"When am I supposed to pick up skips?" I asked.

"Not for the first few weeks," Bobby explained. "At 1700 we're going to do an hour of first aid training tomorrow," he said.

I'm sure I could use first aide training being as accident prone as I am and Bobby is an amazing medic but I'd much rather be picking up skips.

"Congrats Beautiful, boot camp is about to begin," Lester said raising his beer toward me.

I looked around at all their smiling faces and was genuinely afraid.

XXXXXXXXXX

My alarm start went off 5:30am. Thank the good Lord that I spent my last skip check on an ipod home so I could wake up to my play list instead of the glaring beeping of my former alarm.

I am NOT a morning person and even with the music feeling chipper at 5:30 is borderline impossible. Especially in January, it is so fucking dark. _I can't believe I am getting up in the middle of the night._

I trudged to the bathroom where I washed up and brushed my teeth. I threw on my new RangeMan workout clothes, tied my sneakers and took my ipod down to the gym. I was throwing my hair in a ponytail when I heard Lester scream "Holy shit! She's here and on time!"

"Hop on the treadmill honey, we're going to start you off easy" said Bobby attempting what I think was a reassuring smile.

Two hours later I was sweat soaked and lying on the mats after we finished our last circuit of abdominal exercises.

Bobby and Lester were standing over me sweating but grinning and definitely not about to pass out.

"Not bad Bombshell and you'll only get better from here," Bobby said while helping me up.

"I thought you said you were going to start me off easy," I moaned.

I felt Lester's hands on my hips from behind as he whispered in my ear "We did."

_Fuck._

I walked slowly and painfully back to my apartment to shower and dress. I tried to eat but that stupid knot in my stomach had not let up and I only managed a few bites of yogurt and a quarter of a banana before feeling like I was so full that I thought I might be sick.

I met Vince and Ram at the shooting range. "Ahhh there she is and she's five minutes early!" Vince was flashing his perfect white teeth at me. _What the hell? Am I really always that late?_

"Yes, usually anyways," replied Ram.

_Shit. Definitely said that last part out loud_. The next hour I practiced with all sorts of guns, my revolver, glocks, even rifles. I also practiced loading and unloading all of the guns over and over. I wasn't actually that bad of a shot when I could keep my eyes open. The next hour was spent with knives. I'm lucky I didn't lose a finger but I had some really amazing teachers so I shouldn't complain…much.

I met up with Tank and helped him with payroll and inventory and then headed to my cubicle to handle my growing pile of searches. Next thing I know I looked at the clock and it was already 2:30 and I had to be ready for hand to hand combat at 3:00. I ran back to my apartment and changed and headed back down to the gym.

Bobby and Hal were sparing. Manny was running on the treadmill and Tank was beating the hell out of a punching bag.

Lester was standing there smiling at me. Lester is gorgeous, like woman break their necks trying to get a look at him gorgeous. He's a 6'6'' Latino god with unbelievable green eyes and as cute as he is, I wanted to knock that stupid smile off his face.

"Come on Beautiful, we're going to have some fun," he said.

Two hours later I was back to lying on the mats soaked in sweat and Lester was still smiling.

Bobby came jogging over and pulled me up. "Up you go! Now let's talk some basic first aid," he said easily.

I tried not to moan too loudly.

By the time I got back to my apartment on four I was pretty sure I was dying. I ran a bath and soaked for awhile. I got out and rapped myself in a robe and raided the fridge.

Ella stocked me up well with nothing but healthy things but then low and behold in the cabinet…PEANUT BUTTER!

_God bless that woman._ It was organic with no additives but it was peanut butter. I toasted a piece of whole wheat bread and spread on a thick layer. The first bite was heaven, but after I swallowed the knot in my stomach reared its ugly head. I sighed and chocked down the rest and tried an apple without much success.

This must be hell week because that's exactly where I feel like I am. I crawled into bed and unfortunately every time I closed my eyes one face kept appearing and I kept wondering if I would ever get a chance to see him again.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Bobby's POV

Bombshell has been at it for two weeks and hasn't been late once. By all reports she's been happy and engaged the entire time. There have been no breaks in personality and there has been zero sign of tears. In some ways she's been kicking ass, but something is going on.

She looks deathly pale with large dark circles under her eyes. She's also lost way too much weight in such a short period. I mean she never did any sort of physical activity before, except for possibly chasing a skip for about a block before she got too winded, so we expected her to lose some weight but the woman has become gaunt in a two week period.

Lester, Tank and I, being partners in RangeMan, were now having a meeting in Tank's office.

"What do you make of it? I've talked to all the guys and they all say the same thing. She's acting completely normal, no crying, no emotional break downs," asked Tank.

"She's training hard but she's starting to resemble a zombie to the point that I want to yell for Rick Grimes and hit her in the head with a shove," said Lester.

"Nice," I nodded approvingly of the Walking Dead reference which Lester and I recently discovered on Netflix.

Tank cleared his throat.

"She's really improving but something is clearly going on. I think its stress possibly over Ranger being in the wind," I said

"Could be a girl reaction to Ranger not saying I love you" said Lester pretending to stick his finger down his throat. This is one of the reasons I'm "the sensitive one" of this group.

Tank leaned back and his chair and rubbed him eyes. "Bobby, considering you're the medic, I want you to partner with her to keep an eye on her. You will be the one in charge of her physical training as well as being there for her meals so that we can see what's really going on," Tank said.

I nodded my agreement.

"I have an idea myself for a little stress relief Tank," said Lester.

"Santos, I'll call you to the mats at 0500 if you say what I think you're going to say," Tank said in a stern voice.

"No, but that is also an idea. Bomber needs to work on her coordination so figured I'd teach her how to dance," Lester explained.

"Dance?" Tank asked quizzically.

"Yeah, I only know Latin stuff but I'll get her to loosen up and have some fun," Lester explained.

"It's not a bad idea," I chimed in.

"Fine. We'll reconvene in two weeks to access the progress of the situation. We need to take care of her. It's the last thing I promised Ranger before he went into the wind," Tank said.

XXXXXXXX

Later that day I asked Bombshell to come to my place for dinner so we could discuss her next phase in training.

She showed up at right at seven wearing black yoga pants, a white tank top and a zip up. Her hair was up and I couldn't detect any signs of make-up. She looked like shit.

She was so pale and the circles under her eyes were starting to look like she had been hit. Her arms were disturbingly skinny and in the tight pants I could see her hip bones poking through. I pretended not to notice any of this and gave her a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Come in Gorgeous! I have great news I'm going to be your partner and in charge of your fitness for at least the next phase of your training," I said.

"That's great Bobby! Does this mean I'm going to be able to start going after skips again?" she asked excitedly.

_Shit_. She was in no shape to be in the field. "Actually Tank really needs help around the office and you're the only one who knows how to handle everything so he was hoping to keep you in the office for just for a few more weeks until he's caught up," I lied_. Note to self, talk to Tank immediately about that._

She looked disappointed but replied, "Sure! Whatever you guys need I'm there."

"Perfect! Sit down dinner's pretty much ready." I said as I guided her to the small table and chairs I had in my apartment. I placed her in front of a plate of steak, green beans and roasted potatoes and opened a bottle of malbec and poured her a glass.

"Bobby, this looks fantastic but I'm not supposed to be drinking," she said.

"That was during phase one of your training, the first two weeks of no booze and no sweets. We're officially in phase two so you can have a little alcohol," I said smiling.

I was really hoping she didn't see through my really obvious plan of trying to feed her, getting her a buzzed and then asking what's going on.

She smiled and sipped the wine as we started eating. "Bobby, this is really good. I didn't know you could cook," she said in surprise.

"There's a lot of things you don't know about me," I replied attempting a flirty grin.

Part way through dinner I noticed she was just picking at her food and not actually eating it. Being the smooth sensitive guy that I am, I blurted out, "Are you not eating to starve yourself for Ranger?" I cringed as soon as the words were out of my mouth. Once again, I'm the sensitive one out of the group.

Her eyes flashed. _Shit, this isn't going to go well_. "No Bobby. I'm not some fucking sixteen year old Beverly High Schooler who either starves themselves or vomits after every meal" she said coldly.

"Whoa Steph! I'm sorry and I take eating disorders seriously, I'm just concerned and clearly did not approach this is a good way," I said.

"Clearly" she said dryly.

She the sighed and said, "I'm sorry. I know you're concerned and I do take eating disorders seriously. It's just that it pissed me off that you're assuming I'm starving myself over a guy."

"So, what's actually going on?" I finally asked. _Probably should've started with that one._

She sighed. "It's my stomach. It's constantly in knots. I can't eat because I already feel full and I can't seem to get more than three hours of sleep," she said taking a long sip of her wine.

"What's going on in your head right now? Maybe it would help just to talk about it," I suggested.

Steph took another sip of wine. "I keep playing back that night over and over. It's like 'Groundhog Day' up in here," she said tapping the side of her head.

"I think about what kind of danger he's in, that I might never see him again and the last conversation I had with him I said the one thing he really didn't want to hear. I think that I'm angry with him sometimes and then I feel guilty for being pissed off because he's out there saving the world and I'm in Trenton chasing down drunks who missed their court date. Who the hell am I to tell him that I love him? Then I get mad at myself for thinking that because if anything bad did happen to him I would've wanted him to know. But does that make me selfish? Is what I told him a distraction when he's on a mission? Do you understand anything that I'm saying right now?" she asked looking up at me.

"It's hard for me to believe that one person can have that many conflicting feelings and thoughts at the same time," I admitted.

That actually got me a laugh. "I'm a woman Bobby. We're amazing at emotionally multitasking," she said.

"Look Gorgeous, all I know is that anyone going into any combat situation would be thrilled to be told that they were loved, even if they don't reciprocate those feelings. I'm not saying that Ranger doesn't love you or that he does. I don't know and I'm not going to guess what goes on in his head. All I know is that when going into a situation that you're not sure you're going to come back from, being told that you're loved in the best gift any of us could get," I said. That got me a smile and several more bites of dinner.

"Thank you Bobby," she whispered.

"Any time, seriously. You need to talk about this stuff," I said.

"I will. Can we change the subject now?" she asked.

"Yeah we can be done talking about this…tonight," I agreed.

We ended up talking about movies through the rest of dinner and I'm happy to say she ate half her plate. We ended up watching a documentary on our country's failing education system. I could watch a documentary on pretty much anything and I think Steph was just looking for a distraction.

Part way through she fell asleep on my shoulder and I carried her to my bed so she could finally get some sleep. I climbed in after, careful not to touch her. Once I was in she immediately threw her leg over mine and snuggling up against my chest, I complied by putting my arm around her. It felt a little too nice to have her in my bed. She slept soundly while I got to stare at the ceiling trying not to be physically effected by her closeness and wondering what the hell was wrong with Ranger.

Steph's POV

I woke up with Ranger's arms wrapped around me tight with my head on his shoulder. I moaned a little and tried to snuggle closer.

"Uh, Steph?" came a voice that was definitely not Ranger's. My eyes popped open and the chest I was currently laying on was not mocha latte colored. I jumped up and gasped.

"Bobby?" I whispered.

"Yeah Steph?" he answered.

"Why the hell am I in your bed?" I asked.

He chuckled. "Relax, nothing happened. You fell asleep on the couch and I wasn't going to wake you considering this must have been the first full night of sleep you've gotten in awhile. My bed is big enough that I didn't think it was a problem until you attacked me in your sleep," he said smiling at me.

"I attacked you? What did I do?" I asked, feeling more than a little embarrassed.

Bobby continued chuckling as he climbed out of bed. I noticed he was only in boxers and averted my eyes. Not before drinking it all in, his body is a work of art. I'm only human and he's really hot.

"I literally got in bed and you attached yourself to me and no matter how many times I tried to remove you and get you on your side, within minutes you were back clinging to me," he explained. He started throwing on gym shorts and a t-shirt. I could feel myself blushing at the thought of throwing myself at him all night.

"Go to your apartment and change. I am in charge of your training and now that I know you got a good night's sleep I'm going to come at you even harder today," he warned.

He wasn't kidding either. Everything was turned up today, whether it was the incline, speed or the repetition. My muscles felt like they were on fire.

"Come on Bombshell," said Bobby pulling me to my feet.

He walked me into his medic office and gestured to the padded table. "Hop up and stick your leg out," he ordered. I complied and Bobby started rubbing. I couldn't help but let out a moan. Bobby just grinned at me then kept rubbing. He then moved onto my other leg and my arms and back.

I was complete putty in hands. "How are you not taken?" I moaned as he worked on my back.

"Because I spend all my time with you assholes" he answered with a smile.

"Well, you're going to make some woman very happy someday," I said returning the smile.

"Alright Gorgeous, hit the showers warm not hot," he instructed.

I jumped off the table and turned to look at him "Thanks Bobby… for everything. I know I can be a pain in the ass but you've really been good to me when I needed it the most," I said shyly.

He gave me a small smile, and replied "You're welcome," quietly.

XXXXXXX

The next few weeks Bobby was my ever present shadow. He was waiting outside my door every morning to walk down to the gym with me so we would work out. Then we'd have breakfast together, always something healthy and no sweets. He would check in with me during the day when I was busy doing searches and helping Tank too have lunch.

He would also stop by the weapons training with Vince and Ram and my new dance lessons with Lester. Bobby and sometimes Lester would work on self defense and hand to hand combat every afternoon. Bobby would stop by every night for dinner sometimes bringing groceries and forcing me to learn how to cook and then we'd watch documentaries or Lester would stop by and then they would demand that I watch the "Walking Dead" with them.

It was a pleasant few weeks and I was starting to eat and sleep better. The knot was still in my stomach but ever since I talked to Bobby that night in his apartment it didn't feel as big and all consuming. I was starting to come to terms with Ranger not loving me. It didn't change the way I felt about him and if he could just come back safe I would be able to handle anything else. I could handle him not loving me, thinking I'm a joke or even hating me as long as he was safe. So all my thoughts of Ranger consisted of where he was, when he would be back and if he was okay.

The dark circles were basically gone at this point and my color returned to somewhat normal, I mean I'll always be pale but Lester and Bobby stopped comparing to me to the zombies on the Walking Dead. The biggest changes have definitely been in my body. I was starting to see muscles definition while my waist and ass were starting to shrink. Maybe the exercise stuff isn't so bad after all?

Dancing with Lester has been amazing. I was nervous at first when he brought it up to me. I've seen Les dance before and he is really good but he is also what he likes to think of as a "Ladies Man" and what I like to think of as a "Horney Frat Boy". I was scared there would be a lot of groping but Lester Santos was a perfect gentleman during lessons. I never thought gentleman and Lester Santos would be in the same sentence but there it is. Outside of lesson…umm not so much, but I was really having a good time working with Lester.

Also, Vince started stopping by apparently his parents also made him take lessons when he was younger. He knew more dances like the waltz and shit and between the two of them I'm actually not half bad.

I was wondering how two guys at RangeMan, surrounded by extreme alpha males, managed to teach me how to dance and not get completely ripped apart by all the other guys so I asked Vince.

"First off, Les and I get laid way more than the rest of guys, second if you want to hang with alpha males you better be secure and you better be able to take a joke. Guys will endlessly rip on you unless you show them that it doesn't bother you. Third, they're all jealous that Les and I get to spend so much time with you," Vince said with a grin as he dipped me. Did I mention Vince is charming?

Valentine's Day was fast approaching and I wanted to something nice for all the big scary mercenaries who have supported me for the past six weeks. Not to mention but February 15th was a big day for me. I was going to be able to go back to bounty hunting in the afternoons which means I can FINALLY get to see Lula and Connie!

Lula is a former prostitute who I met when working my first case as a bounty hunter. She put her ass on the line to give me information and a complete psycho path tortured her for it, leaving her for dead on my fire escape. I blamed myself and thought she would want nothing to do with me.

Lula on the other hand thinks that I saved her and that incident gave her the strength to quite the prostitution game and get her life together. She has to be one of the strongest people I've ever met. Not to mention she has the same weakness for shoes and sweets that I do. She now works at my cousin Vinnie's bond office with Connie.

Connie is straight up Italian with mob connections and a size D chest, which we're all jealous of. Connie is a "tough bitch" as she would put it and three of us were inseparable when we were all working for Vinnie. I may like my new job but I really miss my girls and I've been practically on lock down the past few weeks and I'm dying to get out and have some serious girl time.

For Valentine's Day I bought superhero themed cards and wrote each guy at RangeMan a card and what I loved about them and then ordered a large edible arrangement for the break room (just fruit, Tank still has me on a no sweet diet which we're going to have discuss soon). When I was preparing the cards I purposefully didn't give any of the guys the Batman ones because I always called Ranger Batman. I picked up one the Batman cards and stared at it. I sighed and wrote the message:

_To Batman_

_Happy Valentine's Day, you may be away but you're not forgotten. Be safe and come home soon._

_-Wannabe Wonder Woman _

I got up. left my apartment and walked to the elevator where I hit the seventh floor button. I had a key fob to Ranger's place that he told me to use whenever I wanted but I haven't been up there since Ranger was in town.

I let myself into his place and walked to the bedroom I picked up the pillow and placed the Valentine underneath it. I guess I felt like he was getting my little note even though he wouldn't. I looked around and just inhaled. The smell of his Bulgari body wash, the sent that clung to him. was in the air. I felt an ache in my chest and the knot in my stomach doubled in size. _Yeah, I have to get the hell out of here._

I ran back to my apartment to find Bobby waiting for me. "Out for a stroll?" he asked.

"Yep, just needed some air!" I replied.

Bobby nodded and turned to go. "Bobby did you need anything?" I asked.

"Nope, just wanted to say good night," he replied.

"Good night!" I called after him.

_Hmm. That was strange._


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Bobby's POV

I was walking by the monitors when I noticed Steph entering Ranger's apartment. _Shit, she was doing so well too._ I thought for a minute and realized that the next day was Valentine's Day so I guess that's why she thought of him. I mean, I can't imagine Ranger "doing Valentine's Day" but Steph's a girl so this shit probably means something to her.

I checked on her when I realized she didn't stay in the apartment long and there was no sign of tears or anything so I just went to bed. As I lay there, I couldn't help but think about how far she's come. First off, she no longer looks like a zombie. She actually looks good. Really good, beautiful even. Her cream colored skin is clear and healthy, her eyes are bright and focused. The dark circles have completely disappeared. Her hair is full and shiny and looks like it would be silky to the touch. _Fuck. I need to partner back up with Lester. Steph is turning me into a full on chick._

Well maybe not completely, I've also noticed her legs are toned and lean and stomach has become taut. Her ass which was always amazing somehow looks even better and she hasn't lost any of the fullness of her breasts. _That's better. Fuck thinking about her eyes and hair I can just as easily focus on her body._

For some reason I couldn't sleep; all I could think about is how I didn't want her to be sad tomorrow. I needed to do something nice.

Steph's POV

It was Valentine's Day. I'm usually not a big participant in this holiday, even when I was with Joe it usually just meant wine instead of beer with our pizza and a hockey game on TV. After working out with Bobby I sneaked around the office to place the valentines in the work stations and offices of all the guys.

I then got the call from the edible arrangement guy and set up my fruit flowers in the break room with a sign that read "From your secret admirer. Sorry there is no chocolate (blame Tank)." Somehow I think the guys would figure out it was me.

I got lots of hugs and kisses the rest of the day. I have to admit, it was an awesome self esteem boost to have all these hot guys get all mushy with me over my silly little kid valentines.

"Little girl!" cried Tank with a laugh. "I love my Incredible Hulk card! And I damn well better be the best and the biggest boss you've ever had," he said as he picked me up in a big bear hug and kissed my head.

"I'm so glad you liked it!" I beamed.

"Also, nice fruit display in the break room," he said with a smile.

"How can you think that was me?" I asked with mock surprise.

"Very cute little girl, very cute," Tank laughed as he strolled away.

XXXXXXX

Later when I finished up my gun training I was headed back to my apartment when I saw Les, Vince and Manny all dressed up. I pretended to faint and Vince caught me.

"Damn gentlemen. Whoever is lucky enough to have you guys as valentines are in serious trouble with you all looking and smelling so _incredibly_ good," I said.

"Thanks Beautiful. We may have dates tonight but you are our only valentine" Les said with a grin.

"Plans, Bombshell?"asked Manny.

"After seeing the three of you? A long cold shower. Have a good night guys!" I said as they each individually grabbed me and gave me a quick hug and a kiss.

_Damn. Now I smell like them and they smelled really really good. Maybe my shower massager would be getting some use instead._

I opened my apartment door and stopped when I saw a dozen roses sitting in a gorgeous vase on the counter. I picked up the card and I realized that it was signed by all the guys. Each one thanked me for bringing something special to their lives. My heart melted. I truly felt like the luckiest girl in the world at this moment. After showering and getting comfortable I heard a knock at the door.

Bobby's POV

Today was Valentine's Day. When I went down to my office to take inventory of the medical supplies I found a small envelope on my desk. When I opened I realized it was a Superman valentine. It read:

_Bobby,_

_You really are Superman the way you're able to be everything to everyone. I feel honored and privileged to have you in my life. Thanks for being the best man I know._

_Love,_

_Your Partner (No, this is not Lester)_

_Wow_. I felt a little shocked and genuinely touched. The fact that this amazing woman thinks so highly of me, completely blows my mind. Steph and I have gotten really close over the last month or so and the more I get to know the more I like her. She's funny and kind and unbelievably sexy without really trying to be. _WHOA. I need to cut that shit it right now._

_We're friends, good friends. She is in love with Ranger who is not only my boss but my brother in arms. He might love her. He might not. I mean he acts like he loves her but he says the weirdest shit to her. At least according to her, who says my love comes with a condom not a ring? I knew the dude had commitment issues but he acts like he's in a relationship with her. Even though according to her, they've only slept together a handful of times the most recent being six months ago. That makes the whole acting like you're in a relationship even weirder if he's not sleeping with her. That guy has her head practically spinning._

_I gave my own head a shake. Well fuck that. I'm not going to hit on her; I'm going to be a good friend. _

I already ordered roses for her from all the guys. I had the guys sign a card for her. Even though they all called me a bitch for doing it, everyone made sure to write something nice to her.

I knocked on her door later that night. She opened it with wet hair in yoga pants and a tank top. She started grinning at me.

"I come baring gifts. Thai food! Curry, kaprow, brown rice and some steamed vegetables," I said holding up the takeout bag.

"No spring rolls or chocolate?" she asked, eyes narrowing.

"No Steph, you know the rules, no junk." I said. Then took my other arm out from behind my back, "But I brought beer!" I said holding a six back.

"Bobby you are the best valentine ever!" she said throwing her arms around me then pulling me into her apartment.

"I also brought a documentary on the black death," I said handing her the DVD.

"Why Mr. Brown, you are truly a romantic," she said with a laugh while pulling out plates.

She suddenly she stopped and paused, as if she was debating something. She turned and walked toward me and put her arms around my neck. I was caught completely off guard. She looked into my eyes and rose up on her toes while pulling me down to meet her, my arms immediately encircled her. She gave me a soft, sweet kiss. I got lost in the feel of her lips and her body pressed up against mine. She broke the kiss then whispered "Thank you for the roses."

Then she broke away and began chattering about the documentary I brought, like absolutely nothing just happened.

_What the hell? Damn I just need to breathe and cool off. It was just a friendly kiss. It sure as shit felt a lot more then friendly. I can't be kissing Bomber! She's Ranger's! But is she?_

"Bobby?" Steph said.

I looked up and realized Steph had already gotten all the food onto plates, set up the coffee table for us with the food and beer and even loaded the DVD while I just stood there dumbfounded. I may have been blushing when I cleared my throat and sat down.

After we ate and cleaned up we were just we spent time watching the Rangers and I noticed she fell asleep. I scooped her up and carried her to the bedroom and laid her down gently. When I went to straighten she grabbed my arm. "Just stay," she yawned.

I kicked off my shoes and took off my jeans and crawled into her bed.

_I don't know why I'm doing this. This is dumb; my apartment is down the hallway. Why am I here? _She threw her leg over me and snuggled close pulling my arm around her_. Great. Another night trying not to think about her body pressed up against mine while she sleeps like a baby. I must be the greatest friend ever to be doing this._ I sighed and somehow fell asleep holding this amazing, beautiful and insane woman in my arms.

XXXXXX

I woke up when I felt Steph dislodge herself from my arms and slowly get out of bed and turn off the alarm. _HOLY SHIT._ When she got up I noticed that all she was wearing was a tiny fitted t-shirt without a bra and tiny red panties. I quickly just shut my eyes as she grabbed gym clothes and tip toed to the bathroom.

_Okay. I need to breathe and get my mind off her ass and those legs and how her lips felt last night. Fuck!_ I thought about stitching up knife wounds and calmed down. I can't keep sleeping in her bed.

_Why was I there? Why did she want me there? Why do I care so much? Shit. I'm becoming a woman. I'm going to ask Les to spar with me later and beat some sense into me._ _This is Bombshell, Bomber, Gorgeous, Steph aka Ranger's woman. I will no longer sleep in her bed._

Part of me knows and understands she's been in an insane situation the past six weeks. During her training she has barely left the RangMan building we've kept her so busy including nights and weekends. She's just looking for a little bit of human connection and comfort and since she's not able to get it from Ranger she's depending on me, her partner. I will not be a creep and take advantage of her situation. But she's really got to stop walking around in sexy red underwear if I'm going to be able to keep that promise.

I guess this is one of the problems being the "sensitive one" and also a medic. She probably thinks that her body has no effect on me considering I've helped her before with stitches and things. I've seen her in just a bra multiple times when she injured her shoulder chasing a skip a few months ago but its different being in medic mode.

I'm not always in medic mode and I'm a red blooded heterosexual man who may be a medic but is also a testosterone fueled mercenary who spends most of his time in the company of other testosterone fueled mercenaries. Being around a beautiful woman has an effect on me. Being around Bombshell has an effect on all the guys but they're not dumb enough to sleep in her bed.

I pretended to be asleep when she came back in the back in the room. "Bobby!" she cried as she launched her entire body at me. I barely caught her before she completely crushed me favorite body part.

She was grinning at me and started bouncing up and down "We get to go skip tracing today! I'm actually going to go back to bounty hunting!" she kept bouncing. "Now get up!"

"I will if you get off me!" I said laughing. With that she bounced off the bed and left me to get ready.

Steph's POV

The morning dragged on knowing that I was going to the bond's office that afternoon. My mind kept drifting back to sleeping next to Bobby. I'm really not sure what compelled me to ask him to stay. I know I've been lonely since Ranger left and the past few weeks have been amazing in some ways but I've barely left Rangeman in six weeks and even being surrounded by the guys all the time, I still feel isolated and alone.

I'm not sure how appropriate it is to sleep cuddled up next to your partner but I needed it. I just hope Bobby isn't thinking that I'm becoming a needy, annoying bitch who is taking advantage of the face that he's the nicest guy in the world.

I picked Superman for a reason for Bobby's valentine and I wasn't exaggerating when I wrote that he was everything to everyone.

Since being at Rangman, I noticed he was the one that Tank went to most for office or business discussions. He was also the first one behind Lester to pull a prank and make everyone laugh. He was the one who always talked sports with Woody and Cal. He could talk electronics and gadgets with Hector…in Spanish. He knew how to cook and sometimes would help Ella (although I think that's to kiss up because everyone kisses up to Ella because she is the one who makes magic happen around here).

Bobby was also the best shot after the two snipers Ram and Vince and the best at hand to hand combat. It was crazy watching him go from concerned medic to all out bad ass in the gym while he was sparing. Then immediately after sparing where he looked like he was just about to kill the guy he was working with, Bobby would walk over to me and calmly talk about the strikes that he used and how and why he used them. I was constantly in awe of this man and I was lucky enough to call him my friend. Sometimes I wondered what I did to deserve him being so good to me.

We were getting ready to leave for the bonds office when Lester came running up. "Yo, Bobby! Mama just called dinner tomorrow with the family," he said.

"Hell yeah man. I love your mom's place. I'll bring beer!" replied Bobby enthusiastically.

"Beautiful you are clearly coming! You've never been to a Santos family party it's always a good time!" Lester was grinning at me.

"Absolutely! What's the occasion?" I asked returning his grin.

"Ahhhh….we're family? Later dudes have fun with the local scumbags!" Lester said as he ran off.

XXXXXXXX

At the bonds office I leaped out of the car and ran at a full sprint to the door. "Lula! Connie!" I cried. They both jumped up and rushed me. I fell into their arms and let out a sigh.

"Girl we fucking missed you!" cried Lula.

"Tell me you brought doughnuts," asked Connie with a grin. I actually think she was a little misty eyed.

"Ladies, please see my lovely escort," I said as I gestured to Bobby who was walking in grinning with a doughnut box.

"I had to hold it because Stephanie is off sweets for another few weeks," Bobby explained.

Connie and Lula both looked at me. "How you holding up?"asked Lula.

"I'm dying…I'm scared I'm going to bring a giant sexual harassment suit onto RangeMan if Tank won't relax on his rules a little bit. Please Lula!" I begged. Lula and Tank have an off and on relationship which is currently on.

"I'll talk to him but when it comes to his work and his men…Honey, he follows rules," Lula said attempting to stroke my hair to soothe me.

"Alright, go eat the doughnuts, you bitches. Then we have work to do," I said with a shake of my head.

Connie gave us three low end skips and Bobby, Lula and I went to each house. Bobby let me take lead if I could give him a good plan of approach before we went in. We had three successful captures and I didn't even roll in garbage once! And Lula didn't shoot anyone! This is basically a banner day in skip tracing.

Bobby and I dropped Lula off at the bonds office, we waved goodbye as we brought our last skip in. While I was getting my bond receipt I felt an arm wrap around my waist from behind and a voice whispered in my ear, "Looking nice and professional Cupcake".

I yelped and jumped. As I spun around I threw my arms around Joe Morelli in a hug. "Hey Joe! It's so good to see you!" I said. _I've been in lockdown or way too long._

"Cupcake, you look great and apparently you're working at RangeMan full time now?" he asked.

"I am! I love it and I'm getting all the training I need. You will notice that I have not rolled in trash today," I said doing a slow model turn so he could look at my unstained clothes.

Joe grinned at me. "That's amazing Steph! I'm proud of you. When we were together I didn't want you to be in this line of work and then we broke up so you could pursue it and I'm just glad you're finally taking it seriously. How's Manoso?" he asked.

"Ah. He's in the wind actually, won't be back for awhile," I said shifting uncomfortably.

"Did you tell him how you felt before he left?" Joe asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"I did. It didn't go exactly as planned," I said slowly. _Understatement of year says what?_

"Cupcake, I care about you and I'm going to speak my piece and then you can do whatever you want and I won't judge," Joe said as he grabbed my shoulders and looked me dead in the eye.

"We spent almost two years trying to 'make us work' because we loved each other even though we both know that what we wanted out of life wasn't compatible. I just don't want to see you repeating the same mistakes that we've already supposedly learned from," he said.

His words hit me in the stomach. He was right. He was completely right. _This sucks._

I let out a sigh and Joe gave me a sympathetic smile.

"Thanks Joe," I said really meaning it. He gathered me in his arms and gave me a strong hug.

"Love ya, Cupcake. Take care of yourself and think about what I said," Joe said. He planted a kiss on my forehead and headed back toward his office.

I don't think I could've asked for a better ex or a better friend. He really is awesome.

I returned to Bobby who was standing still after watching the entire interaction between Joe and me.

"You wanna talk about it?" Bobby asked.

"I'm good," I replied with a smile. _At least I think I am?_


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Steph's POV

Arriving at casa de Santos was slightly intimidating. There were so many cars and we could already hear people talking and laughing as we walked up the drive way. _Is this a small family gathering?_

When we walked in we were rushed by all the females. "Bobby! Lester! Is this her?" asked Mrs. Santos (just a guess based on her resemblance to Lester).

"It is! This is the famous Bombshell Bounty Hunter, Stephanie Plum" Lester said pulling me in front of him. "Beautiful, this is my mama and standing behind her is a lot of other females which are related to me," he said grinning at his family.

I held out my hand "Mrs. Santos, it is such a pleasure to meet you. You have a lovely home," I said. Yep, my Burg manners are kicking in.

"Please call me Inez," said Mrs. Santos, completely ignoring my hand and pulling me into a hug. _Huh. Guess they're huggers._

The women all swarmed around me and escorted me inside to the couch. A glass of red wine was immediately handed to me and then the chatter started.

The women in Lester's family are all awesome. They're super friendly yet they don't pull any punches. It was really refreshing just to be surrounded by women after having such a male dominated existence for over six weeks. I forgot how much I missed having girl time.

I was getting asked all sorts of questions about bounty hunting and how I got into it. They also seemed to already know a lot about me which was beyond flattering and maybe a little awkward.

I was answering a question about my divorce actually when Ella and her husband, Luis walked up with another couple.

"Stephanie! I'm so glad you finally came to one of our family parties!" Ella exclaimed while hugging me. "Now, I want to introduce Ricardo and Maria Manoso. They've heard so much about you from all of us. They've been dying to meet you!" Ella said.

_OH. MY. GOD. I'm going to meet Ranger's parents…without Ranger._ This is slightly strange and not what how I pictured this meeting going down. _Not that I fantasize about meeting his parents, buying a house, or having his baby. Nope, nothing like that. Gulp._

I turned and offered my hand. "Mr. and Mrs. Manoso it's so nice to finally meet you," I greeted. _Perfect Burg manners are coming in really handy today_. I did a silent thank you to my mother.

Mrs. Manoso pulled me in for a hug. "Please call me Maria and my husband Ricardo. We've heard so much about you that we feel like we practically know you!" she said while still hugging me. My heart did a little flutter. _They've heard so much about me!_ I tried to keep my smile small instead of beaming from ear to ear like an idiot.

Ricardo kissed me on both cheeks and then left to go join the boys in the other room.

Maria looked at me and said "It must be so hard for you with Ranger being gone."

I hesitated before answering. "It's always hard on everyone when he goes. It must be hard for you and your family," I said.

Maria smiled. "Of course, but my faith gets me through," she said grabbing my hand and squeezing.

I thought about that for a moment. _I'm technically Catholic._ Technically meaning I was Christened and I get dragged to church by my parents on the big holidays but I don't know if I can count on my faith to carry me through.

Maria must have given Ranger her ESP thing because she then said, "I don't mean faith necessarily in the religious sense. I mean I have faith in my son. I have faith that he knows what he's doing and that he deemed whatever the task is worthy enough to risk his life for. Carlos isn't impulsive or reckless about these things," she explained.

I smiled at her and she squeezed my hand again_. How the hell did Ranger's mom end up comforting me?_

Maria and I then sat down with the other women and we fell into normal conversation. Maria was in the middle of telling us about the renovations to her kitchen when I heard someone shout my name from across the room. I looked up and saw Julie running toward me.

Julie is Ranger's daughter with his ex-wife Rachel who lives in Miami. A little over six months ago Julie was kidnapped by a lunatic named Scrog who literally wanted to be Ranger. So he collected his daughter and decided that he also needed me. See? I wasn't the only one who misinterpreted our relationship.

Anyways, I let myself get taken by Scrog to try and save Julie. She ended up saving everyone by shooting Scrog but not before he shot Ranger. That was perhaps the scariest night of my life. Julie and I bonded over being kidnapped together and kept in touch by email. She is one tough and amazing twelve-year old. I wish I had half the spirit that she has when I was her age.

She threw her arms around me. "No one told me you were going to be here!" she exclaimed.

"Lester just invited me yesterday. Are your parents here? How are you? Tell me about school I want to hear everything," I gushed.

I couldn't help it. I really like the girl and it was really good to see her smiling and looking happy considering the last time I saw her Ranger had been shot and she was recovering from the shock of being kidnapped and killing her kidnapper. Nobody looked okay that night.

"I'm great! I'm really excited to see you. Mom and dad are here but abuela said Ranger was away," Julie explained.

"Come on and say hi to mom and dad!" said Julie grabbing my hand dragging me through a crowd of people.

The rest of the evening flew by. I don't remember the last time I had this much fun and the food! Oh the food! There were tamales and pastelitos and different kinds of stews with fresh bread. I gorged myself to the point where I felt guilty until I saw Bobby going the same thing and Inez beaming at the two of us stuffing our faces.

"It's always nice to know your cooking is appreciated!" Inez said reassuringly.

Everyone was having so much fun talking, laughing and storytelling. I even got to hear some stories about Ranger and how his older sisters used to torment him. Lester's father was hysterically funny, you can see where Lester got his humor and charm from. It was late by the time we were all saying out goodbyes.

"Stephanie, please come back soon. It was such a pleasure meeting you," said Inez with a hug.

Before I left I asked Rachel if I could take Julie to get her nails done tomorrow so we could have sometime to hangout before they headed back to Miami. Rachel beamed and said that Julie would love that so we made plans for me to pick Julie up at the hotel around 3:00pm.

Between all the good food and wine I slept like a rock. I will have to admit the gym was a little harder the next day but I was excited enough to see Julie so I was able to power through my day.

I picked her up and took her to the nail salon where we each picked out colors for our nails and our toes. We were sitting in the chairs when she changed our subject from school to her father.

"Ranger's going to be gone for awhile huh?" she asked.

"Yeah Julie, your dad's on some big mission and won't be back for a few months," I said. This kid has been through enough that I don't even bother trying to bullshit her.

"You must miss him too. I think he loves you," she said trying to look innocent.

I shifted awkwardly. "I always miss him when he goes away. We're very good friends. He does love me in his own way," I said using Ranger's words and hoping we could drop this conversation.

"What does 'in his own way' mean?" she asked. _Good question kid. Shit._

I took a breath and attempted to come up with a reasonable answer.

"I think it means there are all kinds of love. Like the romantic kind, like your mom and dad. Like the kind of love a parent has for a child or that two siblings have for each other and like the kind between of love between two best friends. Your father is my best friend," I explained. _There. I think that sounded reasonable._

She looked at me skeptically. _Okay, maybe that wasn't as good as it sounded in my head._

"Anyways let's get back to you telling me about your soccer game. What position do you play?" I asked lightly.

I dropped off Julie at Lester's mom's house where all the women were gathered looking over counter samples for Maria's new kitchen. I ended up staying for awhile and just hanging out talking about decorating.

I'm not overly interested in decorating, I think I was just craving the company of women and maybe a little of a connection to Ranger. I said goodbye feeling really happy and light. When I laid my head down to sleep once again, his face was all I could see.

Maybe hanging out with his family isn't such a great idea after all.

Tank's POV

They both looked like two guilty high school students who got sent to the principal's office for fighting.

Bomber and Hal sat in opposite chairs with their arms crossed staring at me. "Hal, can you please explain why you and little girl were screaming at each other ten minutes ago?" I said trying to sound reasonable instead of annoyed.

"Bomber thought it was appropriate to bring a box of …_tampons_ to her cubicle without them being hidden in a bag or anything and when I pointed that out she proceeded to tell me that she had her …_period_ and to back off," Hal explained, clearly having trouble with the words 'tampon' and 'period'.

I sighed and turned to Stephanie. "Is it 100% necessary for you to discuss your period openly? Can't some things just be private? Aren't there certain things that you would just consider 'inappropriate' in the work place?" I asked. I was hoping that she would just be reasonable and apologize so we could be done with this awkward conversation.

But then I saw her eyes flash with anger before she began in a tightly controlled voice. "Well Tank, considering I have to listen to Woody talk about his masturbation schedule or the fact that Lester got some random skank to let him put it in her ass, I didn't think that saying words like 'period' or 'tampon' would be such an issue here," she said pointedly.

"You also said uterine lining and vagina!" cried Hal.

"You say pussy, twat and cunt!" she yelled back.

"Alright, alright that's enough!" I said putting my hands up. "Little Girl, are you saying that the guys need to watch what they say around you and that you're offended by what they discuss and the words that they use?" I asked.

_I'm going to have a damn riot on my hands when I have to sit these guys down and tell them to watch their mouths. Fuck._

Stephanie shook her head. "Not at all. I have no problem with what they say. I'm working in an all male, testosterone heavy environment and I can take it. But I don't think it's fair that I have to sensor myself but the guys can say whatever they want. I think its bullshit that I can't say 'tampon' but we can talk about circle jerks and rainbow parties. I said uterine lining and that's offensive to guys that actually go out of their way make up their own insults such a cocktard and fuckwad. I don't even know what a cocktard is!" she said.

I have a headache. And she has a point. I know how dirty all these guys' mouths are and this is definitely not a normal office. If she's not asking them to watch their mouths, they shouldn't be asking her to watch hers. But Stephanie also needs consequences just like the guys have. When there's an argument between the guys they meet at the mats at 0500 and work it out. This gives me an idea.

"Hal, I think Bomber has a point. I do understand you two need to work this out so we're going to meet at the mats at 0500 tomorrow," I stated calmly.

"I can't fight a woman!" Hal said

"Are you out of your mind!" Stephanie cried.

I put my hands up asking for silence. "These are the rules: Stephanie has 15 minutes to land three solid hits on Hal. Hal, you're allowed to block but you cannot strike. If Stephanie cannot land three hits in fifteen minutes then its 30 minutes on the stairs after all your regular workouts. If Stephanie does land the hits then Hal has 30 minutes on the stairs after all regular workouts listening on repeat the song of Stephanie's choice," I explained. I spread my hands letting them know they could now speak.

"That's fine Sir," Hal said with a smirk. I dismissed him.

"Little Girl?" I asked looking at Stephanie.

She looked thoughtful. "I need to do this so it doesn't look like I get special treatment, don't I?" she asked.

I nodded.

"Even though I'm going to get my ass completely kicked?" she asked.

I nodded again.

I heard a knock on the door. "Come in!" I yelled. It was Hector who was going to service my computer.

"Do you need anything else?" I ask Stephanie.

"Actually, yes," she answered.

"Do we need to talk about this in private?" I asked, glancing at Hector.

"Nope, I don't care if Hector hears," she said. Hector is gay so I'm wondering if this is some sort of woman thing.

She took a breath. "I need chocolate Tank, or at least some sort of sugar. It's been two months and I'm going insane. Has Lula or Ranger ever told you what I'm like off sugar?" she asked.

I grimaced. Both Lula and Ranger told me that Steph's sex drive goes up exponentially off sugar to the point where it gets scary. Apparently, two weeks on a no sugar diet and she almost broke Morelli and jumped Ranger. I put up my hands to show her that I didn't want her to explain.

"Don't you think its slightly ironic that we were just discussing how you wanted to be treated the same as everyone else and now you want special dessert privileges during phase two of your training even though we originally agreed to hold off on the sugar till phase three?" I asked with raised eyebrows.

She sighed and muttered, "Well if they were bleeding out of their penises once a month and gave up sugar at the same time then that would be fair."

I groaned.

"Seriously Tank if we don't come to some sort of agreement you're either going to have to lock me in my apartment with a Cosco sized case of double A batteries and the Pirates of Caribbean DVD or you're going to have a giant sexual harassment lawsuit on your hands after I jump one of these guys," she stated.

_Oh my god, I cannot be having this conversation. I need a drink._

"Johnny Depp or Orlando Bloom?" asks Hector.

"Depends on my mood," she replied.

"I don't like Orlando Bloom, he's too effeminate for me," said Hector with a shake of his head.

"Really? I always thought Johnny Depp was more effeminate in Pirates then…" Steph started to reply before I interrupted.

"ENOUGH!" I roared. Both Hector and Stephanie were looking at me in surprise. I opened my bottom drawer pulled out a glass and a bottle of scotch and poured myself a glass.

"Its 3:00pm on a Wednesday, what is this Mad Men?" she asked quizzically.

I glared at her. "I am the second in command at a top security company which employs former top military and mercenary scary motherfuckers and I just spent the past 15 minutes hearing about periods, uterine lining, and which actor is too effeminate to masturbate too. I need a _fucking_ drink," I stated.

We sat in the room in silence while I drank. "One serving of chocolate every other day and you add it into your caloric intake. If it's more than one serving then you need an extra 30 minutes on the treadmill. Do we have a deal?" I finally asked breaking the silence.

"Deal! Thanks Big Guy!" she said and with that she bounced out of my office.

_Seriously, I think that woman is trying to kill me._

Steph's POV

I walked into the gym at 0500 ready for my "appointment" with Hal on the mats. When I got there Hal and Tank were already there along with Bobby, Lester, Vince, Ram, Cal, Woody, Hector and Manny.

"What the hell? Why are they all here?" I asked Tank.

"They're here because we do not close down the gym for these sessions. Anyone can watch." Tank said.

I groaned. _This is going to suck._ Hal and I stretched for a few minutes and the walked to the mat to meet Tank.

"Are we ready and are we clear on the rules?" asked Tank. _Might as well get this humiliation over with. _Hal and I both nodded.

"Manny will be keeping time, ready Manny?" Tank asked. Manny nodded.

"Begin!" shouted Tank.

Hal and I circled each other for a minute and then I tried a combination on him. He easily blocked every shot. _Shit. I might be really screwed here._

I tried several more random shots then a combination and Hal still blocked everything. I started throwing random punches and then when he was distracted I got him in the stomach with a hard knee.

"One!" shouted Tank. The crowd was silent. _Thanks guys._

I continued throwing shots and Hal continued blocking and then I got him with a good elbow while he blocked me knee. "Two!" shouted Tank.

I tried several more combinations and then what felt like out of nowhere Manny shouted "Time!"

_Damn. I totally suck._

I turned to look at the guys and they were all grinning at me. _What the hell?_ Bobby let out a whoop and rushed me picking me up spinning me around and all the guys were clapping and cheering.

"What the hell? I didn't win. Hal did." I pointed out while I stared at them quizzically.

"Beautiful, don't you get it? You got two solid hits on Hal who is a former Navy Seal! That was incredible and you've only been seriously training for two months!" Lester said taking his turn to pick me up twirl me around.

Tank patted me on the back. "You did well Little Girl," Tank said. He sounded …proud.

I turned to Hal with my eyebrows raised in shock. He smiled at me and said "Uterine lining."

I grinned back and said "Cocktard". He grabbed me into a hug and a gave me a big kiss on the cheek.

I looked around and realized I just earned their respect. _This may be the proudest moment of my life._

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

That night during my 30 minutes of stairs, all the guys came down and did 30 minutes of cardio with me, including Hal. I am one really lucky girl.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Steph's POV

March in New Jersey sucks. Everything becomes grayish, the sky, even the ground. The snow starts to melt as the weather gets a little warmer. The problem is it doesn't ever seem to get warm enough to melt the snow completely so the ground is just soaking wet with slushy dirty snow.

Everyone's mood in March sucks too. Winter is long in New Jersey and everyone is always eager for spring. Every year the people of New Jersey look at March as the hope for spring and every year March lets us down. You'd think we would've learned by now, but no, it's another March and we're all pissed off because of the shitty weather. The attitude at RangeMan is no different.

I asked Tank to call a staff meeting because I had an announcement. I looked around at all the pissed off faces of the men because of this very meeting and perhaps a little bit because of the weather.

"Good morning gentlemen, thank you for coming," I began smiling at all the guys. I got a few small smiles back but mostly just blank or pissed off faces.

"You're all American heroes. You have fought and bled for your country. You're all patriots. But it has come to my attention that you all have been severely slacking in your patriotic duty," I started. This got a lot of raised eyebrow and some serious glares.

"I was shocked and appalled to learn that RangeMan has never once participated in the American tradition of March Madness," I said.

This finally got a reaction. Shouts of "yeah!" from the guys and Cal, who is a huge college basketball fan, actually stood up with his arms raised and there was even some applause.

"Here's the deal guys: We're having our own pool. Selection Sunday is this weekend and then brackets will then be open online for you to start filling out. Its $20.00 per bracket but you can do as many as you want. I need brackets filled out and all the money by noon next Thursday when the first round of games starts. Please fill out your email address on the paper that's going around and I will send you the link and password to our pool," I explained.

I looked around at the excited faces and couldn't help but grin. "Thank you all for coming!" I said and this time I got a bunch of full smiles back and some nods of approval.

"Not so fast," said Tank as the guys were about to get up. "We are still working during this time, if productivity decreases or things start to go wrong, know that this will never happen again. Ranger is in the wind and I seriously doubt that he would approve of this but Little Girl convinced me to try it out and is willing to be the one to tell Ranger when gets back," Tank said smiling at me.

I winced.

"Have fun in Siberia! I'll lend you my parka!" yelled Woody. I threw him the finger.

XXXXXXXX

I was having dinner at my parents' house for the first time since I joined RangeMan full time. I've been avoiding it for awhile. My mother was not pleased that Joe and I broke up and she has never been pleased with my chosen profession.

If it was up to her, I'd be married barefoot and pregnant right now. She used to want to behave like my older sister Valarie who got married and went off to California to have two beautiful daughters and supposedly live "Happily Ever After".

Unfortunately, that's not how it worked out. Valarie's husband was cheating and left her, so she flew back to New Jersey and moved back in with my parents. She tried her hand at lesbianism to no avail and then got pregnant out of wedlock by her employer who is now her husband.

We've recently bonded over our life screw ups and have gotten closer because of it. Ironically though, my mother still sees Valarie as the ideal and I'm still the screw up of the family. Not sure how that worked out but if that's the roll she wants me cast in, I'm willing to play the part.

"You want me to come with you?" Bobby asked.

"You would be willing to brave my family and especially my grandmother?" I asked incredulously.

My Grandma Mazur is absolutely my favorite person in the world, but she does NOT keep her hands to herself. I think every guy on the core team has been molested by her.

"If you need back-up, I'm there," Bobby smiled at me reassuringly.

"I'm not sure I need back-up but it's always nice to have the support of my partner," I said returning the smile.

We drove to my parent's house in the Burg around 5:30. "You ready for this?" asked Bobby.

I laughed, "Are _you _ready for this?"

My mother was there to greet us at the door and rushed us into the house to the table. "Stephanie, you didn't tell me you were bringing company," my mother chided. "I've also invited Steven Stiles from the pharmacy over. I figured you two would have a lot to catch up on."

"Who's Steven Stiles?" whispered Bobby.

I rolled my eyes, "A guy I went to high school with, I haven't really spoken to him since high school and don't have any reason to start now," I explained. I took a deep breath and greeted Steven. "Hi Steve, long time no see. This is my friend Bobby," I said gesturing to Bobby who held out his hand for Steve to shake.

Steve was an average looking guy who, according to Burg gossip, was recently divorced perhaps looking for wife number 2. I have no interest in being Steve's wife number 2. My mother would love me to marry Steven Stiles.

I saw Bobby jump and I realized that my grandmother had snuck up behind him and definitely gotten a handful. "Grandma! Please leave Bobby alone," I begged.

"Hello Stephanie! I've missed you. You're not the only one who has a hot date tonight, Herb Morowitz is picking me up for the evening viewing at Stiva's," Grandma said as she hugged me.

"Lucky Herb Morowitz," I replied.

Bobby chuckled and my father rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath as he kissed me hello.

"Dinner is ready, please everyone sit down," my mother said.

I got lucky enough to be seated between Bobby and Steve. "So Stephanie, what do you do for work?" asked Steve.

"I'm actually a bounty hunter and I started working for RangeMan security recently," I said.

"A bounty hunter! Well that's an interesting line of work for a woman" Steve replied.

"That's what I said! What kind of daughter is a bounty hunter! What kind of daughter has a job where she is constantly rolling in garbage and going after dangerous men," my mother agreed with a shake of her head.

"Uh, a badass one? Also, I haven't rolled in garbage in months," I pointed out. My grandmother snorted, Bobby grabbed my knee and gave it a squeeze and my father winked at me.

Steve's eyebrows shot up "Do you like this type of work? Is this something you'd continue if you had a family?" he asked.

"I love this type of work and I'm not really interested in having a family," I replied neutrally. Okay the first part was true the second part was half true. I wasn't really interested in having a family with_ him_.

"Stephanie!" my mother yelled.

"Yes mother?" I asked.

"How can you say such a thing?" she asked looking wounded.

"I've been married. It sucked. I tried to make it work with Joe and thought about giving up my career and we both realized that would make me miserable. Joe really just wants me to be happy. Why don't you?" I asked.

My father reached across the table and squeezed hand and I returned the squeeze.

"Stephanie, I love you and I want you to be happy. But you are my child and I will always worry about you and you are in a dangerous type of work. Please understand it's difficult for me to support this type of work especially after you've been injured, stalked and attacked so many times before. No mother is okay with seeing their child get hurt," my mother said as tears filled her eyes.

_Shit._ I guess I never really thought about how my past reckless actions affected my mother. I know she loves me and I also know she wants me to be happy. She was right. I've been stalked, my apartment has been fire bombed multiple times, not to mention the amount of cars I've lost and I've been to the hospital enough in the past two years that the entire ER staff knows me by my first name. _That couldn't have been easy on her or the rest of my family._

I looked at my mother and sighed. "I know my career hasn't been easy for you and I understand your fears, but please know that I am working my ass off training to become better. I'm now working with a partner and I have a whole security company behind me to watch my back. I love you and I want you to know that I am doing everything possible to be the best _and_ safest bounty hunter I can be. In the past I haven't taken my safety seriously, but I promise you that I am now," I said earnestly.

"Thank you Sweetheart, I will do my best to try and be supportive but you're going to have to be patient with me. It is hard for me, I worry about you," my mother said.

My father in a rare show of affection to my mother took her hand. I felt like my mother and I may have not come to a complete agreement but we moved a step in the right direction in understanding each other a little more.

"Well enough of that! I have to get ready for my date" my grandmother said as she excused herself.

The rest of dinner was relatively uneventful except for my grandmother trying to feel up Bobby again before leaving with Herb Morowitz.

At one point, Steve began whispering to me to ask if Bobby was my boyfriend. I responded back in a whisper that was loud enough for Bubby to hear that he wasn't my boyfriend, just my fuck buddy. Bobby played along rubbing my thigh suggestively, while I shot him a glance as I bit my bottom lip. Poor Steven Stiles looked stricken.

Somehow I don't think Steve will be coming back for dinner.

XXXXXXXXXX

The rest of the week was pretty uneventful. All the guys entered the pool and we all had a good time filling out brackets and talking shit, although I'm pretty sure only Cal was the only one who knew what he was actually talking about.

Lester took Bobby and I back to his mom's place for dinner and I got to know Celia, Ranger's closest sister. She's really funny and very light hearted and it makes me wonder if the military made Ranger the way he is or if he was just born more serious than his older siblings.

Skip tracing was also going well for awhile and then _it_ happened.

Bobby and I were going after an FTA who apparently just got back from the drive-through and had a giant milkshake. Bobby was in front of me telling the skip to come quietly. Bobby may be the nicest guy in the world but he can morph into a scary motherfucker real quick.

The skip panicked and threw the milkshake at Bobby who nimbly dodged it. I on the other hand was not as quick and it got me right in the chest.

I was completely COVERED in ice cream. It ran down my shirt and onto and into my pants dripping into my underwear. Bobby had the skip on the ground handcuffing him while I danced around like an idiot because of the freezing cold ice cream in my underwear.

I looked up to see Bobby looking at me with a tight mouth. He was trying so hard not to laugh.

"Bobby, I swear to Christ is you even smile I will kick your testicles so hard you will feel them in your throat," I said giving him my best Burg glare. "And I just bragged to my mother how I haven't been covered and trash!" I moaned.

Bobby snorted but when I looked at him he flinched and regained control of himself.

We got to the police station in record time; the ice cream wasn't even remotely dry yet. We brought the skip in and Eddie aka "Big Dog" was standing at the front when he saw me.

"Hey Costanza! Didn't you have money on today?"he shouted.

The police always have a pool on me about when I will next show up covered in something or when I will blow up another car. It usually bothers the hell out of me and then I remembered Vince's words all those weeks ago. He said "…if you want to hang with alpha males you better be secure and you better be able to take a joke. Guys will endlessly rip on you unless you show them that it doesn't bother you."

I looked at Constanza. "Did you have money on today?"I asked.

"Hell yeah I did! Way to go Steph! You just won me a shit ton of money," he cackled.

Then I tackled him. He went down on the ground and I proceeded to wipe the chocolate shake all over him. I even rang my shirt out on him.

"What the hell are you doing!" he asked while laughing.

"I figured if you get the money which you clearly won't split with me, you at least have to share a milkshake with me," I said grinning. The other cops had gathered around us and were laughing.

Morelli helped me up off Constanza ,"Nice tackle Cupcake," he said looking me up and down in all my chocolate shake glory.

"Yeah I've learned some new things the past few months. Who has money on me blowing up a car next week?" I asked looking around. Eddie Gazzara, my long time friend and married to my cousin Shirley-the-whiner sheepishly raised his hand.

"Aw, dammit Eddie! I used to like you," I said with a shake of my head.

"Sorry Steph, if there is anything you can do to help me out?" he asked with a grin.

"Fine! I'll try to go after some arsonists next week just for you." I grinned back at him.

"Thanks Steph you're the best! I'd hug you but…" he said gesturing to my lovely shake covered clothes. I laughed and headed out front to wait for Bobby.

To my surprise Robin Russell appeared to be waiting for me. Robin was two years behind me in high school and was now a police officer with the Trenton PD. Robin is African American, had come from a wealthy family and graduated from a prestigious college. She was at first an outsider at the Trenton Police Department because she was a female with a white collar upbringing, no one expected her to be able to get her hands dirty. What they didn't count on was that she was not only determined but she was also extremely smart and a hell of a cop. She has earned all the guys' respect.

"Hey Steph, heard you were working at RangeMan full time now," she said casually.

"Yeah, I started back in January. It's been a lot of fun working and training with the guys," I replied.

She leaned in and whispered "You handled that well in there," she then squeezed my shoulder and left. I then realized that I just earned Robin Russell's respect. I felt a sense of pride.

It was gratifying earning the respect of the alpha males that I worked with. To earn the respect of a fellow a female who was also in a similarly dangerous male dominated field…well, words don't do it justice.

Bobby's POV

March Madness was upon us. There was money on the line, countless side bets, plenty of shit talking and endless days of basketball. It was everything alpha males dreamed of, besides naked women. We had the TVs in the gym turned to all the games, instead of the 24 hour news stations and our workout times switched to the afternoon so we could watch basketball while obeying RangeMan company policy.

I'm also not going to pretend that it hasn't been fun to barge into a skip's house at 0600 to pull them out of bed and slap cuffs on them. The looks on their faces was always priceless.

Every night that basketball was on, all the guys (and Steph) who lived on four would gather at one of our apartments to watch. It has been an awesome few weeks and our productivity hasn't gone down (at least not enough for Tank to call us out) so we're all hoping that this will become an annual tradition.

It was now the beginning of April and we were all at Shorty's to watch the finals. Vince and Manny were the only ones left who had a chance at the money and the each picked different teams to win so it was fun watching them run the mouths to each other. We ordered a bunch of beer and pizza.

Stephanie who was still in phase two of her training got a salad with grilled chicken and spent most of the evening with her eyes glued on the pizza instead of the game. Tank was there so she didn't dare break the rules in front of him. Especially since we all heard she threw a fit about his no sugar policy and he finally caved. No one knows how she got him to do that.

I casually picked off a pepperoni and slung my arm around her so the pepperoni was hanging by her mouth. Her eyes went wide and she quickly ate it out of my hand and then stifled a moan and snuggling closer to me in appreciation. I just grinned at her. I love how much she appreciates food.

The beer was flowing all night and when Manny's team won he bought us all a round of shots with the winnings. I don't know what happened but I somehow got way more intoxicated then planned. I guess it was a good thing I got a ride with Vince.

I woke up the next morning not in my bed and I felt movement next to me. I reacted, grabbing the person pinning them under me holding their wrists.

Steph was looking up at me in surprise. He dark curls framing her face and her bright blue eyes wide open. I realized all she was in was a tiny black tank top and dark blue satin panties with lace on the sides and right now, it was first thing in the morning and I was pressed us against those panties.

I tried moving my erection away from her but she arched her back and pushed her hips up against me to maintain contact. I gasped while she moaned. Her nipples were hard and her eyes were now locked on mine. I knew I should just kiss her. If I kissed her, I could have her. I wanted her bad and I now know she wants me.

We didn't move and just stared at each other for another moment then she broke the silence and said in a restrained voice "Bobby, Tank's letting me have some sugar but not enough to help me in this moment. If you don't get off me I'm going to do something that we'll both probably regret."

I slowly and painfully rolled off her. "Sorry about that. Why am I here?" I asked.

"You were really drunk last night and I couldn't find your keys so I just let you stay. Nothing happened we both just passed out," she replied.

"Thanks and sorry again about just now, I didn't know where I was. I shouldn't have attacked you," I apologized.

"No worries, sorry I almost took advantage of you," she said giving me a small, embarrassed smile.

_Oh my god, if she only knew all the things I had been thinking!_ It's a good thing phase two of her training is over and she has decided she wants to move back to her place. I can't keep being around her this much, especially alone in her bed. I have amazing control but I feel like I'm losing it.

"I'm going to go back to my place and shower. Why don't you pack-up? Lester and I will help you move your stuff back to your place at noon. Sound good?" I asked.

"Yeah thanks," she replied.

I left her apartment and went back to mine to bath in ice water.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Steph's POV

_Holy shit. I can't believe I just made a move on Bobby. What the fuck is wrong with me?_

I need to get my hormones in check. I feel relieved to be going back to my apartment. It's been a lot of fun living at RangeMan but I really need some space from the guys. I truly love them but they don't seem to get privacy or boundaries. They all walk in and out of my apartment without knocking and when the door is locked they simply pick the lock. They tend to do that at my other apartment too, the difference is it doesn't happen several times a day like it does here.

All my stuff was packed and Bobby and Lester were loading it, so I headed to Tank's office to turn in my keys. "You ready for phase three little girl?" asked Tank.

"I am! What's phase three going to look like?" I asked.

"Well for starters, you will have more independence, such as living off site and you won't be on a monitored diet anymore. It's up to you to maintain your diet," he said looking me dead in the eye.

Tank knows that I'm a complete junk food addict and right now I'm thinking about picking up a pizza from Pino's with extra cheese, then driving to McDonalds for fries and chicken nuggets with multiple dipping sauces and then going to Dairy Queen for a giant cookie dough blizzard. My mouth was watering.

"You're still going to be partnered with Brown but you will be training with all the members of the core team in the gym. They are on a schedule so you just show up at 0600 and they'll let you know you're training with. Also, we'll work on defensive driving and you're probably going to doing some distraction work again. Does that work for you?" he asked.

"Yes, Sir," I said as I gave him my keys.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After I unpacked my stuff I went to the grocery store and stocked up on a bunch of healthy stuff while chanting my stuff while chanting my new "I'm an adult" mantra over and over again in my head.

I didn't even stop at Pino's, McDonalds or Dairy Queen! I did buy a few of Ben and Jerry's single serving ice creams, I mean you can only expect so much change in such a short period of time. Also, after my encounter with Bobby I feel like I needed the sugar.

Once back in my home with Rex happy in his hamster ball running around the apartment, I took a good look at my place and realized I didn't like it very much. My furniture consisted of different items I got off craigslist after my divorce.

I could have fought for alimony. I caught my husband fucking that slut Joyce Barnhardt on our new dining room table. The dick actually offered my alimony if I kept my mouth shut, he used to have political ambitions. I declined. We'd only been married a few weeks and I made sure that the story was all over the Burg (I can be vindictive). I didn't want his money; I didn't want any connection to him whatsoever. If that meant being broke and living hand to mouth I was clearly willing to do that.

Now, I wasn't living hand to mouth. I had a decent salary and after living at RangeMan full time for the past three months and not having to pay utilities, I had a decent nest egg and I was itching to spend some of it. I called Lula and made plans to go furniture shopping later that week. I took control over my body, now it's time to get control over my apartment.

XXXXXXXX

It's been nice living in my apartment again. Lula helped me pick out a comfy couch and a queen size bed (no more full for me! I'm an adult!). I also got a bookcase, coffee table and table and chairs delivered by Ikea.

I may have put aside my new independent streak and have tricked some of the guys into coming over for pizza, beer and the Yankees. When they got there I had purposely opened all the boxes and was sitting in the middle of "trying" to put together the coffee table with the little allen wrench why the guys walked in.

"Oh shit," said Lester as he surveyed the scene.

"Looks like someone took a trip to Ikea. Nice couch Gorgeous" said Bobby gesturing to my new couch.

Vince folded his arms and said "Bomber, get up. I'm not going to sit here and watch you fuck around with this shit for the next five hours when we can bang this out in an hour."

I widened my eyes, "I couldn't ask you to do that!" I exclaimed. _I mean, I couldn't ask but since they offered…_

Ram smiled at me and said "Lets split up gentlemen and we can have this shit done before the pizza is delivered."

Ram grabbed the bookcase, Lester the table and Vince the chairs. Bobby walked over to me and gently moved me away from the coffee table that I was "working on."

"I know exactly what you're doing," he whispered in my ear. I tried to look innocent. "You're lucky you're cute," he said with a shake of his head.

XXXXXXXXX

It was Saturday night and I was going out dancing. I bunch of the RangeMan guys were going out and Lula and Connie were coming too. I was really looking forward to blowing of some steam. I was even enjoying getting ready.

I've still been working long hours and I feel like I was either in gym clothes or RangeMan gear and I haven't exactly been feeling feminine. Last time I was at the mall I dropped a fortune at Victoria's Secret just so I could have pretty bra and panty sets to wear so I could remind myself that I'm still a girl under my gear.

Tonight I was going all out. I had a fitted dark blue dress and sexy 4-inch FMPs. I had shaved, waxed and lotioned up. I was now working on straightening my hair. It's naturally curly and I have to admit most days I'm way too lazy to bother with it but tonight was different.

I played up my eyes with dark liner and tons of mascara. I made sure my mouth was properly glossed. I was packing my clutch when I heard the lock tumble and I smiled knowing that Lester has just let himself in.

I walked out of the bedroom. "Hey Les! I'm all ready. Thanks for driving," I called out.

"No worries Beautiful, I figured you can't handle more than one drink and I'm planning on us having a lot so I thought I should…." he trailed off when he turned and looked at me. "Beautiful, you may want to change and pull up your hair or something," he said as his eyes traveled from my head to toes and then back up again.

"I look that bad!" I shrieked. _I know it's been awhile since I've dressed up and the guys haven't really seen my hair straight but I looked in the mirror and I thought I looked pretty good. How could I have been so off base?_

"Beautiful, you look incredible. I'm planning on drinking tonight and I don't want to have to fight all the guys that are going to be hitting on you looking like that. Also, I am going to be drinking tonight and I'm nervous I'll start hitting on you and then Ranger will come back and my body will wash up on the coast of Africa," he explained.

I beamed. "You are a seriously dangerous and charming man Mr. Santos," I said as I threw my arms around his neck.

Les groaned. "Seriously, Beautiful. How about a sweatshirt?" he begged.

I laughed again and grabbed his hand and pulled him out the door.

The bar was packed and the music was good. I spotted Tank right away (he's called Tank for a reason, he's kind of hard to miss) talking to Lula and Connie. A bunch of the other guys were already there sitting at tables sipping drinks.

I bellied up to the bar and was waiting on the bartender when the man next to me asked if he could buy me a drink. _I guess I can rock the straight hair look after all. _The guy seemed nice enough I just wasn't feeling interested so I politely declined and paid for my own gin and tonic. _Yay independence_.

I walked over to where the guys were sitting and Vince let out a "Damn!" while looking me up and down. I got a few cat calls and whistles from the guys which I clearly loved. It's nice to know that they can still see me as a woman outside the office.

Bobby was just staring at me with his mouth hanging open. I walked over and jokingly lifted his chin so his mouth would close.

"Uh you look….nice," he stammered.

"Nice, seriously? That's kind of lame," I said with an eye roll as I started to walk away.

He grabbed my wrist and pulled me to him. I let out a small gasp as I landed on his hard chest.

"You look fucking unbelievable and you know it. I'm going to have to stay away from you all night so we don't have a repeat of me being your bed. I can't promise that I'm going to be able to keep restraining myself," he whispered in my ear.

I shivered involuntarily as I felt my body grow warm. _I must need more sugar._ I could feel how warm my face is. _Maybe I just need ice water. Maybe I just need an ice water shower. Oh boy. Yeah I need to walk away from him too._

I moved away from Bobby on shakey legs.

After I composed myself, I went off and danced with Lester for awhile trying out some of the moves he's been showing me and then I danced with Vince and tried out some of the steps he's shown me. I spent a lot of time talking to Lula, Tank, Vince and Connie.

It was getting late and I watched at the guys started pairing off with different women. It was kind of fun to watch the guys work their magic and believe me they definitely had some magic. Each one was able to pick up a girl and most were leaving with their "dates."

_I wonder if I just put out a bowl of condoms and Valtrex in the breakroom on Monday_? I giggled to myself thinking about my prank.

"Something amusing you?" Bobby asked sliding up beside me.

"Just watching the guys in action. It's impressive. Why aren't you out there? Don't you see something you like?" I asked gesturing to a group of pretty women which were currently surrounding Vince and Woody.

"I see something I like. It's just not over there," he grinned as he looked me up and down. I felt my face grow warm.

With that he wrapped his arms around me, lifting me off my feet and walking me to the dance floor before placing me on my feet.

I wouldn't have believed it but Bobby can dance. He's really good and I loved dancing with him. Maybe too much. I kept thinking about how good he smelled and how nice it felt to be do close to him. I don't know how long we danced for but next thing I know the lights were on.

I looked around for Les. "If you're looking for Lester he left with a hot blonde awhile ago. He's probably already kicked her out by now. Don't worry he asked me to give you a ride home before he left," said Bobby.

"Oh Bobby! Is that why you didn't hit on anyone? Because you were planning on having to take me home? I could've always taken a cab," I said feeling guilty that I may have ruined his night.

"No," was Bobby's only reply.

Bobby drove me home and then did a quick walk through of my apartment. All the guys seemed to do that. I don't know if it's a military thing or it's a "Stephanie attracts crazies" thing. I grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge and turned to see Bobby just standing a few feet from me watching me.

I tried to think of something to say. His mouth was tight and eyes were dilated. He walked over to me taking the bottle out of my hands and setting it on the counter. He then grabbed me face and kissed me.

It was urgent and hot. I could feel his tongue and I opened my mouth in response. I heard myself moan and Bobby's kiss became more urgent. His hands were in my hair and then running down my back pulling me closer. My toes were curled, my hands in his hair and I began grinding my hips against his. I was getting dizzy with excitement. _Damn he feels good._

He abruptly broke the kiss. Are eyes met and I think he looked as shocked as I felt. He then turned on his heel walking out of my apartment. Now I was the one standing with my mouth hanging open.

_What the fuck just happened?_

Bobby's POV

I kissed Stephanie. It was a mistake. I should've controlled myself. I was really pissed off at myself and wasn't sure how to handle the situation. I got lucky though, the next say Steph came in like nothing happened. She didn't treat me any differently or mention anything about the kiss. I wasn't sure if I should be relieved or irritated.

I mean she kissed me back. There was clearly something going on between us. Some of the guys were asking and making jokes how Ranger was going to be sending me off to a third world country when he got back. I felt really guilty about Ranger. I know he has feelings for her but what I don't understand was he why won't commit to her.

Steph told me that he's repeatedly said that he doesn't do relationships and that his life doesn't lend itself to relationships but yet she's his woman. I can tell she resents that. I resent that.

Ranger is my brother in arms. I would never want to do anything to hurt him. I need to keep my hands off Steph until they sorted out their shit.

It's difficult. I'm really falling for her and I can tell she has feelings for me. I can also tell she's confused and I don't want to fuck with her head so I will just be her friend and be supportive…for now.

It's been slightly easier to get some space from her after the kiss because Tank has been keeping her busy at the office this week so she hasn't needed me to go skip tracing with her. There are a bunch of client meetings and Tank has asked Steph to attend, so she's been working hard getting caught up. She's great with clients and Tank feels that having a woman like Steph attending certain client meetings is beneficial when we need to present a slightly "softer" side of RangeMan.

Lester and I usually attend client meeting when Ranger's away since we're also partners. We have to get dressed up in "corporate RangeMan" wear, i.e. black suits, black shirts, black tie. Steph walked in wearing all black as well. Black skirt, black shirt, black jacket, black tights and black heels. Her hair was pulled up in a bun. I kinda liked the corporate look.

I tried not to stare at her during the meeting. It was hard because not only did she look good she was charming the pants off of our clients. I felt so proud of her. I could tell Tank and Lester were also pleased with her performance.

XXXXXXXXXXX

It was Friday night and Steph was doing her first distraction since her training began. She was dressed in more of a corporate look trying to pick up a white collar skip at Happy Hour. When it was time to mike her up I made sure that I was the one to do it. I would have killed any of the guys that touched her. _Fuck, I was getting possessive_. I don't want to start acting like Ranger.

She gave me a nervous smile after I finished miking her up. I kissed her forehead and whispered "You'll do great. You always get you man."

She squeezed my hand and then tested her microphone. Tank gave her the thumbs up.

"See you boys later. Watch my back," she said as she got out of the car and sauntered into the bar.

Lester, Ram and Vince were inside while Cal and I were waiting outside to make the apprehension.

Lester came over the radio saying that our target has taken the bait. We could hear Steph chatting up the skip. Twenty minutes later Lester reported that the skip was touching her thigh so it was looking good that the skip would follow her out. I was enraged to think about some douchebag skip touching her. I breathed and got control over my emotions.

"Target approaching the door," Lester's voice came over the radio, breaking through my thoughts.

Cal and I moved into position Steph casually came out of the bar, kept her eyes straight and kept walking as to not startle the skip. Once he was in sight Cal moved in front and simply said "Bond enforcement."

The guy tried to run but I was behind him. I grabbed him by the collar throwing him against the wall he bounced off falling on the ground. I gave him a quick kick in the ribs for putting his hands on Steph.

Cal cuffed him and looked up at me. "I really fucking love my job," he said grinning at me. I just grinned back.

Steph's POV

Last night my distraction job went down perfectly. I also nailed all the client meetings this week. I was on a professional high. I was completely kicking ass at my job and I was earning RangMan a ton of money instead of costing RangeMan a ton of money. I helped Tank negotiate with the suppliers for office supplies and weaponry, I've been consistently bringing in low level skips with the help of Bobby, and last night I helped them take down an extremely high level skip which earned the company crazy money. This made me feel especially good considering Ranger has told me before that his company "bleeds money" because of me. I was practically glowing.

Then there was Bobby. I don't know what to make of our situation. Bobby is one of the most amazing men I've ever met. We were clearly attracted to each other…very attracted. Although, every time we get close to possibly becoming more one of us freaks and backs off. I wonder if it was totally because of Ranger or maybe Bobby just wasn't interested in pursuing a relationship with me.

I know I still love Ranger but I'm also angry and hurt. I overheard Tank saying something about the mission that Ranger on. Something about how Ranger has known about this mission for _months_.

Yet he told me five minutes before leaving. Why does he hide things from me? Why is he always trying to keep me in the dark? Does he think that this is protecting me? Maybe he just doesn't care enough to keep me informed.

The worst part is being really pissed off at him and he's not even here for me to rage at. Then of course there is the guilt for being mad at a man who's risking his life. Guilt for being angry and knowing that he might not come back.

Today, Tank is having a barbeque since it's the first weekend that it will be over 70 degrees. Tank has a great house with an awesome deck and huge backyard. I brought beer considering I still not much of a cook; even with Bobby's lessons during phase one. Tank was grilling, Lula and Connie were playing bean bag toss with Manny and Ram and everyone else was lounging around with beers. _Ahhh I love spring._

To my surprise Celia, Ranger's sister and her husband Tony were there too. I smiled and waved at them. The afternoon was pleasant and was spent stuffing our faces, playing wiffle ball, beer bong and bean bag toss. It was dark and the tiki torches were lit when Celia and I finally had a moment alone.

"Okay, I just need to ask. What's going on with you and Bobby? He keeps staring at you but you two seem to be avoiding each other," she asked.

I sighed and rubbed my face. "I really don't know. There's a lot of mixed signals from both of us and…" I trailed off.

"Carlos?" she finished for me.

I nodded and then it came out. Like it ALL came out. Everything about Bobby and Ranger; my confusion, guilt and aggravation all came out.

Celia listened patiently and when I finished she hugged me. "Look Steph, I love my brother and I know there is clearly something between you two considering that he actually talks about you. Carlos never talks about women. His last relationship was with Rachel and it was not a love match. They would have never been together if she hadn't gotten pregnant. I will say that I don't know if my brother even knows how to be in a relationship. I'm not sure what he's capable of giving you. I think you have to figure out what you want out of a relationship and if you think he can actually give you what you need. I've also known Bobby for years. He's a good man and would be an amazing boyfriend. It seems like you both are sending each other mixed signals and you need to figure that out too," she suggested.

"Thanks for letting me vent. It's gotta be weird to hear someone talk about your brother," I said shyly.

"Are you kidding! I love hearing this personal stuff about Carlos aka 'Ranger,'" she said making air quotes around Ranger. "It's nice to know that he can be human and that he has someone like you in his life. He's so secretive it's just nice to see another side to my baby brother," she said smiling.

I thanked her and we said goodbye making plans to grab coffee and get our nails done later in the week.

After I got home I looked around my apartment. It looked so much better now that I actually had furniture. I even got two throw rugs and hung up and few black and white pictures.

I thought about how in the past few months I've gotten control of my job, body and apartment. Now I just really needed to get a grip on my love life and the only way to do that was to actually figure out what I wanted instead of letting other people dictate the terms.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Steph's POV

I had been thinking a lot about Bobby and our relationship. I know how much I like him as a person and I know that I'm attracted to him but what I really wanted to make sure of was that he wasn't someone just filling Ranger's void until he got back. I wanted to make sure what I thought I felt, was genuine and that he was developing the same feelings.

I decided to try and spend as much time with his as possible over the next few weeks. I asked Bobby to resume the cooking lessons. If this doesn't show how badly I wanted to spend time with this man I don't know what will. Not to mention that Bobby will only show me how to cook healthy stuff. Sometimes I think he's testing my resolve.

Bobby's POV

After spending a few weeks avoiding each other, Steph asked me to start up her cooking lessons again. I wish I could say I said no, but the truth was I looking for any excuse just to be around her. She started defensive driving lessons with Tank but I was still her main sparing partner not to mention we were still field partners

That was going to change in a few weeks. I was supposed to go back to Lester and Steph would be paired up with Vince for awhile. I really was going to miss all the time we usually spend together. I was also irrationally jealous that Vince was going to be spending so much time with her. He was going to be the one she told her jokes too or jumped on and hugged when she did well. I was even jealous that he was going to be the one to go to her parents' house for dinner and get groped by Steph's bat shit crazy grandmother. I had it bad for this girl.

I'd started going over to her place twice a week so we could cook dinner. The best is when I taught her how to make vegan lasagna. Honestly, I don't even eat this shit but I was just dying to see her face and if she'd be willing to do it. Her face was priceless when I explained to her that this lasagna had no cheese. She immediately started arguing that it shouldn't be called lasagna then if should be called "baked vegetables."

She impressed me when she went with it. She cut up vegetables with me and actually ate a whole piece of "baked vegetables" without complaining. We don't usually drink and she did open a bottle of wine to wash it down but I considered that fair play.

I loved our alone time together, we joked and flirted. We watched a lot of documentaries during this time and she always ended up in my arms on the couch. It was a pleasant existence but I wanted so much more and I was wondering how much longer I could hold out for Ranger to return.

After a particularly grueling session sparing, she was begging me to call the session and not make her run after.

"Please Bobby! I'm _dying_. I'll run extra tomorrow, I promise!" she begged.

I pulled her on her feet and then started rubbing her shoulders. She moaned leaning against me. "If you run and don't complain I will give you the surprise I've been saving," I whispered in her ear.

She definitely perked up and turned her head to look at me with raised eyebrows raised.

"Gelato," I whispered. "Chocolate peanut butter, I will bring it over tonight if you do the two miles," I promised.

"Why do I feel like I'm being manipulated?" she moaned.

I just grinned at her.

"You drive a hard bargain Mr. Brown and if you're not in my apartment gelato in hand at 7:00pm I will hunt you down," she said as she got in my face.

"Scouts honor," I said.

"Were you really a boyscout?" she asked.

"Semantics," I replied. She rolled her eyes in response.

We did the two miles and she didn't complain once. After we finished she grabbed me by the front of the shirt pulling me into her giving me a quick hard kiss on the mouth.

She then whispered, "Remember what I said."

She then grabbed her gym bag and walked out of the gym leaving me smiling ear to ear.

At 6:58pm, I knocked on her door. It swung open almost immediately. She was fresh out of the shower in navy yoga pant and a tiny white tank top. I couldn't believe how beautiful she looked. I held up the container of gelato and her eyes widened. She pulled me into her apartment.

She already had two spoons out.

"No bowels?" I asked smiling.

"Bowels be damned! Here have the first bite," she said handing me a spoon.

"What did I do to deserve this bout of generosity?" I asked.

"That bite is probably all you're getting," she said with an evil grin.

I took my bite and handed the gelato over. I was scared she would bite my hand if I took too long.

She took the gelato and walked away from me, turning her back to shield it from me. She took her first bite and her eyes rolled back in her head. She started moaning.

After listening to those moans, my control snapped. Gelato was officially the last thing on my mind.

I walked across the kitchen knocking the gelato out of her hands. She gasped in surprise as I grabbed her pushing her up against the wall and kissed her hard. I heard the clink of the spoon as she dropped it on the ground.

I couldn't stop kissing her, my hands were in her hair and then running down her back holding her body tightly against mine. Her hands were gripping my arms and then went around my neck with a moan as I began kissing down her throat.

I bent down to grab her legs lifting them over my hips carrying her into the bedroom. I laid her down and she tugged at my shirt pulling it over my head. I pulled off her tank top and started kissing her everywhere, toying with her erect nipples.

We never spoke. She arched her back giving me better access while she moaned. I explored her body enjoying the taste and feel of her. I removed her yoga pants and panties in one quick motion. She cried out as I buried my face between her thighs and began using my tongue and fingers on her.

The next thing I knew she was handing me a condom. "Please Bobby," she said as she yanked down my jeans and boxers. I grabbed her face kissing her again.

I know we should slow down but I couldn't, I don't think she could either. It has been such a long time coming. We had been holding back for reasons I couldn't even remember at the moment.

I entered her and one quick motion and she cried out digging her nails into my back and moving up against me in a fast rhythm. I felt her release and then my own followed soon after. I rolled off of her pulling her to my chest. Both of our hearts were pounding and our breathing was unsteady.

I can't believe that just fucking happened. This was such a bad idea. I should have backed off till Ranger retuned.

I looked down at her face kissing her forehead as she was clinging to me. We didn't speak. I don't know what I should say. I know what I wanted to say. I wanted to tell her how much she meant to me and that I'm completely falling for her. I wanted to tell her how much I think about her and how I missed her whenever she wasn't around. But I didn't say anything.

Instead, I was going to show her how I felt. I kissed her softly and slowly and we began all over again. This time slower, sweeter and loving. I wouldn't waste a moment of this.

Steph's POV

Last night may have been one of the best nights of my life. Bobby and I had amazing passionate sex and then we made love. Then we had crazy passionate sex again and then made love again. I was waking up with the biggest smile on my face and maybe a little sore. I was thinking about waking Bobby up the way he woke me up the last time. I smiled to myself and rolled over to start round five.

Then I sat straight up. _What the fuck?_ He was gone. I called out his name. Nothing. I grabbed my robe and threw it on and walked out to the kitchen. No note. I checked the living room and even the bathroom. No note.

_Why did he just leave?_ I had a sick feeling in my stomach. I took a breath and told myself to calm down and get ready for work. I'm sure there would be a perfectly reasonable explanation. He's the medic, there was probably a medical emergency and he didn't want to wake me.

I rinsed off in the shower, I could still smell his cologne on me and it caused an ache in my chest. I threw on my gym clothes, fed Rex then grabbed my bag and went out the door. I took deep cleansing breaths and I my chanted my mantra "I'm an adult" over and over again.

_I will not over react. It's probably nothing. I am not so dumbass college freshman who got talked out of her pants the first night by the senior jock. It's Bobby! Bobby has feelings for me and I have feelings him. We really like each other and we're going to happy. Bobby would never use me._ This little pep talk I was giving myself was actually making me feel even more pathetic.

I walked into the gym and my stomach dropped when I saw Bobby dripping sweat on the treadmill. He wasn't in his office stitching anyone up, he was here working out. I plastered my usual smile on my face and waved hello to all the guys.

I walked up to Bobby, "Hey, I was a little surprised not see you this morning," I said making sure I was quiet enough so that the other guys couldn't hear and I kept the stupid smile plastered on my face.

Bobby didn't look at me and replied, "Yeah, I didn't feel like staying."

I felt like I just got the wind knocked out of me. _I was the stupid freshman_. _I somehow mistook all the looks and touches to mean something more than they did. I'm a fucking idiot._

This was all too familiar territory for me. This was Ranger all over again. I let out a breath and regained my composure. I then turned and walked away so hopefully he wouldn't see me looking sick to my stomach, I refused to look back.

I walked to Tank's office. "Hey Tank. Can I talk to you?" I asked. Time for my own fucking blank face: mine consists of a smile and lots of mascara. _I can hide what I'm feeling too, asshole_.

"What's up Little Girl?" asked Tank.

"Well I was hoping to start working with Vince today instead of next week. I think Bobby is coming down with a cold or the flu or something and I'm worried that he's not up to training me even though he'll never admit it," I lied.

"Absolutely," Tank said evenly. "Go tell Vince and then tell Bobby to go to bed. These guys never admit to being ill and we need our medic healthy," he said.

"Of course Tank!" I smiled sweetly.

I walked back to the gym. "Hey Vince, I'm going to start training with you today instead of next week. Bobby seems to be coming down with something," I said.

"Yes! Baby doll, you have no idea how long I've wanted to get my hands on you!" Vince exclaimed.

We then walked over to Bobby's treadmill where he was finishing up.

"Hey Bobby, don't worry about a thing. I spoke with Tank and told him you weren't feeling well so I'll just start working with Vince a little early so you can rest and get better. Tank also said you are off duty today and you are ordered to go to bed," I said with my version of a blank face.

"Dude, you do kinda look like shit," Vince chimed in. _God, I love Vince._

"He probably didn't get much sleep," I pointed out. Hoping that my dig hit home.

Bobby looked stricken. _Ha!_ His mouth tightened and then let out a breath and nodded.

"Feel better!" I called out as I headed off with Vince to work out.

"So how hard do you want to go today?" asked Vince.

"Oh Vince, I want it hard. I want to either pass out or vomit," I replied. I was serious too. I had a lot of anger and emotion to work out.

"Baby doll, I knew I was going to love working with you!" Vince said with a gleam in his eye.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Bobby and I didn't speak or interact over the next few weeks. I don't know what hurt more, being rejected as a lover or being rejected as a friend. It really sucked either way. I recovered the best way I knew how. I threw myself into work. I begged Vince to keep pushing me in workouts. I did vomit multiple times and passed out once.

Each time when Vince tried to call Bobby I told him I was fine. There was no way in hell I was going to see me in such a vulnerable state. Not again anyways. I always offered to stay late and help Tank with the office admin work and Tank even asked me to help with some more client meetings which were also helping me keep busy.

Vince also had me training with a new weapon. It was an extendable self defense baton. I could fit it into most of my hand bags and I was getting good with it. Vince pointed out that I don't punch very hard so this weapon could even the playing field in a fight.

I really enjoyed working with Vince and he was our resident weapons expert so I trusted his judgment. I find myself actually enjoying working with the baton. I still hate guns and I hate going to the shooting range, but I do feel better now that I know how to handle them. I also feel better that I know I can hit someone in the leg instead of the chest if I have too.

I tried to keep my version of the blank face on me but it occasionally slipped off. The most recent slip was at target practice with Ram. I ran into Bobby on the way in. We didn't speak but even seeing him at this point still pissed me off. Ram was noticing that I was distracted.

"Is there something you want to talk about Bomber?" he asked me in a rough tone.

"No Sir," I replied.

"Good. Because I am not your fucking girlfriend. I am your fucking shooting instructor," he said gruffly.

I was in a bitch ass mood so I behaved like a bitch. Ram was standing behind me so I opened my eyes as wide as I could and stared at the light until tears started filling my eyes. I turned slowly and looked at Ram as two fat tears fell down my face.

"Oh shit. Bomber I'm sorry! Are you okay? We can really talk about whatever is bothering you," he said while gathering me in his arms.

I couldn't help it, I started laughing. Ram could feel me shaking and it started to suspect and might not be silent sobs.

"Bomber…were you just fake fucking crying?" he said as he broke away from our hug and looked at my face in horror.

"That was a bitch move and you will pay for that! Tell Vince I'll be working out with you tomorrow morning. Bring an extra shirt so you can change once you vomit on the first. Now fucking shoot," he dangerously.

I suppressed a groan, which would probably just get me in more trouble.

_Fuck. I should know better to over play my hand with the Merry Men._

Bobby's POV

This may have been the worst few weeks of my life and I did three tours. I left that morning because I couldn't bear the thought of losing her to Ranger once he returns. I also couldn't handle the thought of seeing Ranger's face if he came back from in the wind and I had taken the one woman he's ever loved.

Basically, I fucked up big time. FUBAR is too light of a term for what I've done. Steph now hates me and it kills me. The first morning when she walked up to me while I was running I couldn't bring myself to look at her. I felt so ashamed. Then she pulled that stunt with Tank and I felt like I got the wind knocked out of me.

We've been avoiding each other for several weeks and tonight we had a distraction job that we were both going to have to be a part of. It was a big deal; we were going after a mutilating rapist who is now also wanted for murder. This guy's bond was ridiculous and he's extremely dangerous. I was against using Steph but I was out voted.

She was sitting in the van in a black trench coat covering her distraction outfit. Her hair was straightened and she went heavy with eye makeup and glossy lips. It reminded me of the first night I kissed her and I felt sick. She slipped out of the coat so she could be miked.

I don't know how the hell we were going to get a mike on her in that fucking top. It was black and slinky. Its went way down in the front showing the outline of her breasts and it barely had a back, she clearly was not wearing a bra. She was wearing a very short white skirt and really high black heels. I sucked in a breath, as I took in her outfit. She asked Vince to mike her and I had to concentrate on keeping my hands clenched and not hitting him.

She took a deep breath and said into the mike "I'm dressed on my right thigh," she said referring to the small gun she was carrying. "Watch my back tonight, I've read this guys file. It's a pleasure working with you all to get this asshole," she said. She sounded nervous.

"Bobby and Vince will be inside watching you. Lester and Ram will be at the back exit which should be your goal. Hector and Hal will be at the front, so you're covered. It's really crowded in there so you're going to be easy to lose so BE CAREFUL. Go to work Little Girl," Tank said with a nod.

Steph picked up her purse and sauntered into the club. Vince and I followed not too far behind and spread out making sure we kept our eyes on her. She approached the bar and ordered a shot. We already talked the bartender so she would be getting water instead of vodka. Our target was already eyeing her. She ordered another fake shot.

Our target approached and started a conversation "Rough night Darling?" he asked.

"That's putting it mildly. I just found out my boyfriend has been cheating on me," Steph replied.

"How could any guy in his right mind cheat on you?" the target leered.

Steph gave him a sexy smile and leaned forward so he had a better look down her shirt.

"That's so sweet of you to say," she said in a breathy voice. I fucking hated watching this.

The target and Steph chatted for awhile and then he finally asked if she wanted to make her boyfriend jealous.

"I thought you'd never ask, my car is this way," she said leading our target to the back.

They were heading to the back when we lost them.

"I lost sight on Steph," I said panicking into my microphone.

I looked at Vince who shook his head.

_SHIT._ I was waiting for Lester to come over the wire saying that Steph and the target came out the back but it didn't happen.

Then over the wire we heard Steph's voice. "Where are you going? I thought we were going to my car?" she said.

"I didn't want to wait Darling. You just look so damn good," target's voice said.

"We need eyes on Steph NOW," shouted Tank.

"Fuck it I'm coming in!" cried Lester. We were frantically searching for her when I heard the sound of a slap as she cried out in pain. I felt my heart stop and I was gripped with fear.

Steph's POV

We were after a dangerous skip. The target was a mutilating rapist who was now wanted for murder. I shuddered when I was reading through his file. I knew I would help in any way I could to get him off the streets.

The distraction job was going smoothly until the target, as we were headed out the back pushed me into a small side room which must have some manager's office or something. I tried to alert the guys by asking where we were going. I know Vince and Bobby had eyes on me so I was hoping they were going to bust in here any moment.

The target shoved me hard against the wall kissing me hard and then moving to my neck and groping at my breasts. I tried not to cry out to alert him even though I was revolted.

I got my hand around the extendable baton in my purse letting my purse drop to the ground. He didn't seem to notice I was holding something. I needed to extend it but it makes a small noise and I wanted to hold out as long as possible. I felt the prick's hand on my left thigh and when I felt him pulling aside my underwear I tried to jerk away and that's when he hit me. Little did he know that hit not only got his hands away from my panties, but he gave me the excuse I needed to make enough noise to extend my baton. _Sucker._

With the baton extended I stomped on his foot with my heel then quickly kneed him in the testicles and cracked him across the face with the baton. I quickly drew my small gun from the holster on my right leg.

"Bond enforcement! On your stomach hands behind you head now!" I yelled.

"You stupid whore!" he snarled, but he did comply with my request and rolled onto my stomach.

I laughed."I've been called worse by better. Don't try to get up" I said as I placed my heel on his back when I saw him move.

I felt him move again and I coked my gun so he could hear the noise. "Actually, please try to get up because I will shoot you. I will shoot you with a smile," I assured him.

I shouldn't taunt, but I really really hated this guy. Not to mention he touched me all over and I needed to go home and remove the top layer of my skin.

"Fucking bitch, you wouldn't kill me" he taunted back.

"No, but I would be happy to take out your leg or another appendage," I countered.

Just like that Lester, Bobby and Vince broke through the door. Lester and Vince looked at the skip, who was on the ground and bloody, incredulously.

Bobby face was panic stricken and was staring at me.

Baby!" he called as he rushed to my side.

The room froze. It was a cardinal rule that we all adhere too. No terms of endearment in front of skips. It's unprofessional. It makes me look weak.

I turned around and punched Bobby in the face. His head recoiled back a little but he didn't say anything. His eyes met mine and he nodded. He knows he was wrong.

Lester and Vince loaded the skip into Cal's car. Once the skip was gone Lester turned and yelled "Damn Beautiful! That was fucking amazing! You beat the shit out of the skip and then punched fucking Bobby!" Lester was laughing.

I gave Bobby a small smile."I'm sorry I punched you" I apologized.

"I deserved it. I deserved worse," he said quietly as his eyes met mine.

"Alright this has been fun. I'm going home," I turned and started to walk away. I was exhausted both emotionally and physically.

"Steph!" Bobby called as he ran after me and grabbed my wrist. I simply turned my wrist towards the opening of his fingers the then brought my elbow to his and he let go. I looked at him with an "I bet your sorry now that you taught me that trick, fucker" look.

"I'm sorry. I am so sorry about everything. Please believe me!" he begged. I could see the pain in his eyes.

"OK," was all I said and I turned to go again.

"Please believe me! I can't tell you how hard the last month has been!" he said.

"Bobby, I just had a mutilating rapist murder's hand on my breasts, tongue down my throat and fingers almost inside me. I'm not really in the mood to talk right now," I said trying to keep my temper under control.

Bobby looked crushed but he let me go. I wasn't sure how I felt. Right now I was just numb.

Ranger's POV

I was waiting in Babe's apartment for her to return. She's made quite a few changes since I've been gone. There was new furniture and pictures hanging on the walls. Her refrigerator was full of fruits and vegetables. I was actually worried at first that she must have moved until I saw Rex running on his wheel. I took a seat in a chair in the corner and waited in the dark for her to return.

When the door opened I almost didn't recognize her. Her hair was straight and shiny. She had on heavy eye makeup and glossy lips. She placed her purse on the table and shrugged off the black trench coat.

_HOLY SHIT WHAT WAS SHE WEARING? _

Her back was to me and between the black shirt she had on, which exposed almost her entire back and the short white skirt, she was showing a lot of skin. Way more than my Babe usually shows. She was also in really sexy high heels. Those were the kind shoes I'd have her leave on once I got her out of that barely there top and skirt.

She was casually stretching but her right hand was slowly lifting up the side of her skirt. _Did she know I was here and was giving me a show?_

My eyebrows were definitely raised, in one quick movement she drew a small gun from a hidden holster on her thigh and whipped around crouching down in her heels aiming the gun at me.

"Babe," was all I said.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Ranger's POV

She was crouched in 5 inch heels pointing a small gun at me. I drank in the image of her. Her flowing silky hair, hanging straight down her back, her bright eyes lined in black, she looked incredibly sexy. I noticed how toned her legs and arms looked. _My Babe has been working out_. This was straight out of one of my favorite fantasies, my Babe dressed all sexy and aiming a gun with a lethal look in her eyes. I was just hoping tonight would end the way my fantasies did.

"Babe," I said.

She locked eyes with me and ever so slowly rose from her crouched position slowly lowering the gun. Her face remained still, she showed no emotion. She slowly rested that gun on the table. She never moved her eyes from me.

Without speaking she walked towards me, took my face in her hands and kissed me. It was urgent and desperate. I felt her need and met her with my own. I missed her touch so much I ached inside. I was planning on taking this much further until I went to touch her face and felt her flinch.

Steph's POV

When I walked into my dark apartment and took off my coat, I felt a presence. I tried to remain calm and pretended to stretch as I slowly reached for the gun strapped to my right thigh_. I swear if somehow Bobby beat me home, I will shoot him in the fucking foot._ I spun around crouching down aiming my gun at the intruder.

_Ranger._

My anger, hurt and confusion melted away. I didn't care what happened with the skip tonight. I didn't care that I was mad at Bobby. Hell, I didn't care that I was mad at Ranger. Ricardo Carlos Manoso was alive and in my apartment. I slowly got up and placed my gun on the table. I searched his face and body for signs of injury. His hair was cut very short, close to his scalp. He was a little thinner and perhaps a little tired but otherwise he looked unharmed.

I didn't speak as I walked to him, took his face into my hands and kissed him passionately. He immediately responded pushing his tongue into my mouth and his arms pulling me closer to him. My heart was pounding and I was feeling dizzy when Rangers hand touched my face. I flinched. It was right where the skip hit me.

He sensed it immediately and broke away his eyes searching mine in the shadows. He walked to my end table and turned on a lamp to get a better look at me.

"What happened?" he said studying the bruise on my face. _Ahhh, how I missed his eloquence._

"Crazy night with the girls. Shots, dancing and fights. The usual Friday night shit," I lied.

"Babe," he said simply. He always knew when I was lying.

"Went after a skip, he was a real asshole. He was a murdering, raping, mutilating type of asshole. We got him but he got his hands on me before we were able to take him down. I'm fine, he looks much worse than I do," I said as I tried to grin reassuringly.

"Where did he get his hands?" Ranger asked holding me by the shoulders looking me straight in the eyes.

"Everywhere… I really need to shower," I winced.

"Did he..." he asked. I knew what he was going to ask so I cut him off.

"No. I didn't let it get that far," I said hoping he realized that I handled the situation.

He kissed my forehead and whispered for me to shower. I took a scalding hot shower. My skin was red when I got out. I felt drained. When I left the bathroom in a t-shirt and underwear I realized Ranger was already in my bed. I knew I should kick him out. I also really wanted to the comfort he would provide me.

I slipped under the covers and without a word Ranger wrapped his arms around me pulling me to his chest, right where I belonged.

XXXXXXXXX

I woke early next morning before my alarm went off. I was supposed to go to RangeMan and work out with Vince. I slipped out of bed, changed and left Ranger a note (BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT PEOPLE DO). He's usually such a light sleeper but from the looks of it he didn't get much sleep when he was in the wind.

I was about an hour into my workout when Ranger arrived in the gym. Everyone let out cheers and crowded around him for handshakes and man hugs. I could tell they were all relieved.

"Good to have you back boss man. We've actually got something for you to see," said Tank with a smile.

Tank called Hal and all the televisions changed to the same feed. I heard the crackle of an audio recording being played. I then realized it was footage from the security camera in the manager's office of the club from last night that Hal must have linked with the audio which was recorded from our microphones.

It started with the guys saying they lost sight of me then me trying to signal the guys that we weren't going out the back. I appeared on camera when the skip pulled me into the manager's office and shoved me up against the wall. I saw Ranger's mouth tighten in anger when he saw how the skip was touching me. I also heard a growl escape him and his body tense when he saw the skip's hands go up my skirt and then hit me when I tried to pull away. I saw Bobby out of the corner of my eye and he looked livid while watching the video.

Then they all got a chance to see me take down the skip. Ranger's eyes widened in surprise as he watched me crack the skip across the face with the baton then pull my gun and order him to the ground.

"Impressive Babe," he said. I felt myself flush with pride. I've worked my ass off the last few months and I'm glad he got a chance to see my new skills.

The audio cutout after I told the skip I would shoot him with a smile and Vince shouted his enthusiasm before pulling me into a hug. Unfortunately the video didn't cut out when the audio did so everyone got to see me punch Bobby in the face.

I winced while most of the guys cackled and nudged Bobby whose face was stricken. The guys gave me a round of applause once the video was done.

I felt Ranger's hands on the back of my neck turning my face to his "Why did you punch Bobby?" he asked.

"He used a term of endearment in front of the skip," I explained.

"Which one?" he asked.

"Baby," I answered.

"Why would he call you Baby?" asked Ranger, his eyes searching mine.

"You should probably ask Bobby that," I replied.

I didn't have the patience for this. Last night, nothing else mattered because Ranger was home safe in my bed with his arms wrapped around me. But in light of the morning, all the issues that I've had with him were resurfacing and I just wasn't ready to handle it.

"Who were the inside men who were supposed to have eyes on Stephanie last night?" Ranger asked looking at all the guys.

Bobby and Vince raised their hands.

"Mats 0500 tomorrow," Ranger barked.

"Wait a minute! These guys have also been my main trainers. Without them, I would have never been able to defend myself. I owe them for last night!" I interjected grabbing Ranger's arm.

"Leave it alone Gorgeous," said Bobby.

"He's right Baby Doll, we deserve it," agreed Vince.

"Ranger-" I started to argue but he cut me off.

"No one touches you," he whispered fiercely then and walked off.

All I could do was stare after him in frustration. _I fucking hate when he does that._

Bobby's POV

Watching the tape of Steph and the skip made me want to kill someone. The way he touched her and how close it had been. I was so angry at myself for letting her get into that position. I couldn't get the image of out of my mind when he put his hand up her skirt and then hit her.

If I had seen that video earlier the skip would've never made it the cop shop. That's probably why Tank kept the video hidden. However, I felt a sense of pride watching her take down the man that was assaulting her with some of the very moves we've worked on the past few weeks. She was truly amazing.

Ranger was right to call me and Vince to the mats. We let her down. Not to mention she was clearly still the boss's woman and she got hurt. He still looked at her with the same intensity as before. She however looked...tired.

Steph's POV

Later that week Ranger asked me to have dinner with him on seven. He's been really busy since he got back and we haven't spent any time alone together since the first night when he slept in bed with me.

I took the elevator up to his apartment with butterflies in my stomach. I knew that I still loved him but I just couldn't do the fake relationship anymore. I wasn't sure if I wanted to ever get married again. I wasn't sure if I ever was going to want children. Hell, I wasn't sure if I even wanted to live with someone again.

But what I did know was that I wanted a relationship. Maybe not your typical relationship but I wanted a commitment of some sort. I was tired of Ranger's lines of "my life doesn't lend itself to relationships", "my love comes with a condom not a ring" and my personal favorite "you're a line item in my entertainment budget" and then declaring to everyone that I'm his woman and should be treated as such.

I left Joe because we were in an unhealthy cycle and we were never going to be able to give the other what they needed. Joe was right, I sure as shit did not want to end up back in a similar cycle of undefined relationships and dysfunction. I know now that I can live without Ranger. It's hard and I will always will love him, but I'll be damned if I'm going to let his issues take me down with him. I've just come to damn far.

I let myself into Ranger's apartment. "Babe," he greeted me. He walked up to me and kissed me softly on the mouth.

"Slightly inappropriate way to treat your employee don't you think? Unless, all the guys are getting this treatment" I said nervously.

He smiled at me and led me to the couch. He had already opened a bottle of wine. He poured me a glass and watched me drink. He was remained silent and I began to feel uneasy.

"You're staring" I pointed out.

"Sorry, it's just been so long since I've spent time with you" he explained quietly.

I don't think I've ever heard Ranger apologize before. This whole thing feels weird. I took another sip of wine in hopes to drown the stupid butterflies in my stomach.

We sat in silence for several painful minutes.

"Did you mean it?" he asked breaking the silence. I looked at him quizzically. "The night that I left, what you said. Did you mean it?" he asked again.

"Yes. But I'm not sure that it matters," I responded.

"Explain," he demanded quietly.

"Ranger, you don't want a relationship, at least not with me," I was really trying to control my temper.

My level of frustration with him had me at the edge and I was trying desperately to hold on.

"Why do you think that?" he asked

_Oh no, that's it, I'm going over_…

"Let's break it down shall we? Let's start with the 'you're a line item in my entertainment budget'. You don't say that to someone you actually have feelings for and take seriously," I said fuming.

He looked at me in surprise but remained silent

I took a breath and tried to be gentler. "I know how much time and money you have spent helping me, protecting me and I appreciate it more then you will ever know. I also hope you know that in the past few months I've done everything I can to be more than a line item for entertainment. I wanted to prove that I could be an asset to this company and to you," I explained.

"Babe, I've told you before whatever we give each other is given freely. I know what I said. It was an attempt at a joke. I also know how valuable you have been since you've been part of RangeMan full time. I had a meeting with Tank and he's told me all about your help in the office as well as with potential clients and even in the field. I knew you would be an asset. That is one of the reasons I asked you before to come work here full time. Proud of you Babe," he replied with a small smile.

"Alright, let's discuss the 'my life doesn't lend itself to relationships'. You do realize that before you left we were practically in a relationship? I saw you almost every day. We went to lunch together, had dinner together, watched movies. You were actually starting to let me really get to know you before you left but you didn't seem interested in doing anything physical. But when I'm with someone else you will try anything to get in my pants and if you succeed you immediately shut me out as soon as the sun comes up. It's completely fucked! If you don't want to be with me, that's fine. I can take it, just don't bullshit me and don't run around here telling everyone that I'm your woman!" I was shouting now. I've been holding onto some of this stuff for way too long. We were both now on our feet and I was practically pacing the floor.

"Babe, it's not that I don't want to be with you. What about when I go into the wind? What if my enemies come after you?" he asked calmly.

"Have I ever tried to stop you? Have I ever once begged you not to go or to tell me where you were going or what you were doing? Never! So why would I start now? I trust you enough that if you're going to go you have good reasons for doing so," I said.

I gave a silent thank you to Ranger's mom for that bit of wisdom.

"As for enemies, I have plenty of my own. Abruzzi and Cone didn't come after me because of you. They came after me because of my job; a job that I have no intention of quitting. Scrog did come after me because of you, but we weren't even together! I was with Joe. It seems it's going to happen then it doesn't matter if we're really together or not so don't you pull that line with me!" I was back to shouting. I was just so tired of this.

"I can't give you what you want," he said in a defeated voice.

"How would you know that? Do you realize you've never asked what I want?" I said. At least I wasn't shouting this time but I was still trying to restrain myself from grabbing him and shaking the shit out of him.

"What do you want Babe?" he asked walking toward me and gently taking my face in his hands.

"I want what every woman wants," I replied calmly.

"I told you before, my love comes with a condom not a ring," he whispered.

"Do you really know that little about women?" I asked incredulously. "Options Ranger! Women want options! All I know right now is I'm looking for a commitment. I'm not sure if I want to get married again. I'm not sure if I'm ever was going to want children. I'm not sure if I even want to live with someone again. I just want the option of exploring these things down the line with someone that I love!" I was back to shouting.

I was doing really well calming myself down until he dropped the condom not a ring line. That tended to make my blood boil, as if I'm some woman desperate to lock a man down into marriage. _Please. He should know me better then that._

"What happens if it doesn't work and we want different things?" he asked earnestly

"Then we would do what every normal couple does and break up!" I was exasperated. _For someone one so smart how can he be so dumb?_ I needed some space and to calm down before I did or said something that I regretted.

"Maybe I can do all those things," he said grabbing my wrist as I turned to walk away from him.

I used Bobby's little maneuver to free myself from his grasp.

"I also need someone who's willing communicate with me. I'm not sure you're that person. I found out that you knew for months you were going on your last mission and you didn't think I needed to know till about five minutes before you disappeared for six months. I may not be able to know where you're going or what you're doing but I could have been told when you were leaving," I shouted. _I really need to get out of here. I'm really losing it._

A flash of panic showed in his eyes when he heard that I knew about him hiding that information from me. He quickly composed himself. "Babe, I know I'm not good at communicating," he explained slowly.

"Well, Ranger neither am I! I'm not good at a lot of things and I have plenty of flaws but I've decided to grow up and actually work on those things instead of continuously making excuses for my shortcomings and putting my shit on other people! Maybe you should try it," I stated boldly. With that I grabbed my purse and walked toward the door. I was done.

"Babe!" he said as he started chasing me.

I spun around with stun gun in hand. "Ranger, I swear I will stun you if you try to follow me. Back off," I said, my voice shaking with exasperation.

He backed up and the hurt in eyes was almost too much too take. _Almost. _I've been through enough that I know I can get through this.

When I got back to my place I changed into running clothes and headed to the local high school track. It was too late to run in my neighborhood. I was jogging lost in my own thoughts when I felt someone running next to me. I looked up and saw Lester.

"Are you following me?" I asked.

"No Beautiful, I always around a high school track at 9:30 on weeknights. It's like my thing," he grinned. "You want to talk about it?" he asked.

"Not even a little bit," I replied.

"Good, then I can tell you about this girl I hooked up with last weekend. She was crazy hot and slutty, like sheer white skirt black thong slutty. Oh and so dumb!" he exclaimed.

He then prattled on about his random hook-up for the next hour as we circled the track. Lester Santos may be a complete womanizer but he still manages to be one of the best men I know and the best friend a girl could ask for.

Bobby's POV

Les and I were standing by the monitors when we saw Steph leave Ranger's apartment. She looked livid. She took the elevator to the garage and left without speaking to anyone. Ranger emerged a few minutes later in gym clothes and headed to the gym.

Lester looked at me and raised his eyebrows and said, "You should probably go talk to Bombshell while I go make sure my cousin doesn't tear the gym completely apart."

I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck. "Why don't you go talk to Bomber and I'll take Ranger?" I replied.

"Fine with me, but you're eventually going to have tell me what's really going on between you and Bombshell. Good luck with Ranger. Try not to get killed," Lester said as he grabbed his car keys and headed down to the garage.

I headed down to the gym and saw Ranger beating the ever loving shit out of a punching bag.

"Yo!" I called out as I approached.

Ranger glanced at me and nodded then went back to punching. I watched him work for a minute or two before he broke his silence.

"Why did you call her Baby?" he finally asked.

"Because I have feelings for her and when I saw what the skip did to her cheek it slipped out," I replied.

He nodded. "Does she have feelings for you?" he asked.

"I don't know. I think she did at one point. I ruined it. She can barely tolerate being around me," I answered honestly. You don't lie to a man that you've been in combat with. You have to be able to trust them with your life.

"What happened?" he asked. None of us are talkers but Ranger makes the rest of us look chatty.

I started out by explaining what happened at her apartment the day after he left when Lester and I found her sitting on the couch. His jaw tightened when I explained the "Solo" reference.

I told Ranger how we were originally worried about her and that Tank thought it would be best because I was the one with the medical background to partner with her. I then explained how my relationship with Steph grew into something more and how I was unable to control myself.

Then came the hard part, I told him about our night together, how I left her and how poorly I treated her the next day. He glared at me. I knew he wanted to hit me and I would gladly take it.

"Why? Why would you leave if you love her?" he asked.

"Because I know she loves you and you love her. If I was actually with her, I couldn't stand to lose her once you came back. I also couldn't stand to watch my brother in arms suffer because I took away the only woman he ever loved. Either way I was fucked. I figured it was better to stand aside and let you two work your shit out," I explained.

"You never her told her this?" he asked.

"No, she doesn't know why I left," I admitted.

He nodded slowly.

"If you fuck this up, I will be there. Know that," I said.

He paused and looked at the ceiling for a moment before nodding again and then turning around to continue hitting the bag.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Lester's POV

After we finished running and I was done entertaining Beautiful with my witty story about my most recent conquest she asked me to stop at the store before following her to her apartment. She picked up a bottle of zinfandel and some single serving Ben and Jerry's Phish Food for me Chubby Hubby for her.

"Ha! Are you trying to say Ranger's getting fat?" I cackled.

If anything Ranger has lost a bit too much weight in the wind but I loved to talk shit. I'm a guy. It's what we do. Also, very few people are willing to talk shit about Ranger, since he's my cousin I get away with more than most.

"That would imply that Ranger and I are in some sort or relationship, which we are not," she said attempting a neutral face.

We climbed the stairs to her apartment and she let us in and grabbed some spoons and some wine glasses.

"TV?" I asked.

"Fire escape," she replied.

We took out the wine and ice cream and sat on the fire escape breathing the warm June air. She didn't say much just let out a moan at her first bite of ice cream. I couldn't help but grin at her.

"So are you going to tell me what the fuck had been going between you and Bobby or am I going to have to start guessing?" I finally asked.

She started choking on her wine. _Ha! I knew I was on to something._

Once she could breathe again she finally answered. "I'm going to sound really pathetic," she groaned.

"Beautiful I've seen in every possible state: covered in garbage, tazed, soaking wet, stabbed, sleeping, solo'ed and I've never once thought you were pathetic. Spill," I insisted.

"I was stupid. I thought we had something between us. More than just chemistry I thought we had something real. I slept with Bobby and he took off in the middle of the night and then ignored me the next morning. It was completely humiliating I felt like some dumb ass college freshman," she sighed as she leaned her head against the building to stare up at the sky.

"Bobby slept with you and then dropped you the next day?" I asked. Don't get me wrong Bobby has hooked up plenty of times but I just couldn't see him doing that to Steph. Steph wasn't a random, she was one of us. She accepted us, loved us and cared for us and we all returned the same feelings. Bobby fucked up and he's been avoiding her so he clearly knew it.

"What about Ranger?" I finally asked changing the subject.

Another big sigh and she caught me up on her and Ranger's drama. She told me all about the conversation in his apartment. When she was finished my head was spinning, I can't imagine how hers was doing.

"Do you have a game plan?"I asked.

She looked at her giant glass of wine and the ice cream and looked at me and said, "Does this not count as an effective game plan? Because it's really all I got right now." She gestured to the wine and ice cream.

"Come to my family party tomorrow! You need a break, they all love you. They'll be drinking and dancing. Come on Beautiful, you need a break!" I said.

"Won't Ranger be there? That's not taking a break," she pointed out.

"Ranger hasn't been to a family party besides the ones at his mom's house in five years and that's only because she yells and guilts him into it," I countered. "Admit it! You want to come!" I laughed.

"It would be nice, your family's awesome. You just have to promise me that Ranger will not be there!" she said.

"I'm telling you it's been over five years. As much as he loves family he's not great at communicating so he avoids social functions that aren't a bunch of military guys," I reassured her.

Its true Ranger is the boss and a Captain in the Rangers but when it comes to small talk and socializing…well he sucks.

Steph's POV

I must be out of my mind to agree to go to Lester's family party. I know the chances of Ranger showing up are slim to none but I it's still completely weird to be hanging out with his family when he doesn't know that I've even met them. It's also weird that I'm hanging out with his family when I'm mad at him and I'm avoiding him. It's completely inappropriate. So why am I going?

Because Lester's family in FUN. They're warm, funny and lively. There is always good food, good drinks and great music. Spending time with the Santos clan can make anyone forget their problems. I've been over their quite a few times since the first party but Ranger was never in town. It seems like everyone knew something was going on between us but they were too polite to ask (thank god, because what would I say?).

Lester picked me up and we headed over to him parent's house. I picked up a bottle of wine that I brought last time because I knew Ricardo liked it and repeatedly asked me about it. We walked into the house and Inez came and greeted us both hugging me tight. I went into the kitchen and saw Ricardo and brought him the wine.

"Estefania**! **Thank you so much for the wine, I've been looking everywhere for this. You are an angel!" he declared while kissing me. Celia and Tony were also there. Celia ran forward hugging me and dragging me off to her sister Luisa who just had a baby boy named Michael.

I was holding the baby with Maria cooing at him over my shoulder when I heard her shout "Carlos! I can't believe you came!"

Maria went rushing towards her son throwing her arms around him. I shot a panicked look at Les from across the room, who mouthed "I am so sorry" and winced.

_Shit! Shit shit shit. I'm holding a freaking baby I don't know how the hell to get out of here! FUCK._ I was panicking trying to look like nothing was wrong.

Ranger hugged, kissed and greeted his family while I pretended to ignore him. He wasn't willing to play that game so he sauntered up to me looking amazing in dark jeans and a white t-shirt, it was slightly strange to see him out of RangeMan black. _Damn he looks good._

"Babe," he said. It was a greeting.

"Hey Carlos, this is your nephew Michael," I said while handing him the baby.

To my surprise Ranger took the infant and held it like he's done it a million times before, smiling a 200 watt smile at the infant. My ovaries twitched. _Shit. I'm not supposed to be interested in children._

"I'm not sure you've ever called me Carlos before," he murmured while smiling at the child. I raised my eyebrows.

"I like it," he said turning his incredible smile on me. I felt my heart flutter and I tried to compose myself. I hate that he had such an effect on me. I hate that he knew the effect he was having on me.

"I didn't think you came to these types of things," I said casually.

"I don't usually. A woman recently brought it to my attention that since I'm not the best communicator I should grow up and works on it. So I figured I would practice on family. You being here is a surprise," he said just as casually.

I tried not to visibly flinch.

"She sounds like a real bitch," I replied.

"Don't talk that way about my woman," he whispered hotly in my ear. A shiver involuntarily went down my spine and I just stood there completely flustered. _Damnit Plum! Pull it together!_

Thank god Maria and Celia came to save me.

"Carlos!" Celia cried and threw her arms around her brother then kissed him affectionately on the cheek. "I've seen you met the newest addition to the family. Doesn't he look exactly like Luisa?" she gushed over baby Michael.

"He is a handsome kid, but I think he looks like John," Ranger said easily. _Who is this guy?_

"Stephanie you must come to the house soon and see the kitchen. It was a present from Carlos before he left. Do you know I was using the same appliances and had the exact same kitchen since before the kids were born? Before Carlos left he knew Ricardo and I were planning on having it redone and the first day he was gone a contractor he hired showed up at my front door. I have the best children!" Maria said proudly. "He refuses to give me any more grandchildren so I will settle for a kitchen," Maria teased.

"Mama, I never said I refused to have any more children," he replied while looking at me intently. I did my best to avoid his gaze. _Shit. Shit. Shit. Breath Stephanie. Breath._

"Well, I'm just so glad he has finally found someone as wonderful as you!" Maria said as she hugged me. Ranger smiled easily at me over his mother's shoulder. I tried not to pass out. _I need to get the fuck out of here. NOW._

Lester, after watching this interaction, finally came to my rescue. He came over and grabbed my hand. "Come on Beautiful, we're dancing outside," he said as he led me away.

He took me to the back patio which was lit up with Christmas lights and tiki torches. There was salsa music playing through the sound system and there were plenty of people on the make shift dance floor. Lester led me out on the "floor" and made good use of all the lessons over the past few months. I relaxed in his arms and just really enjoyed dancing with a handsome talented partner.

Les spun me around and dipped me. I caught sight of Ranger staring at us. Les and I danced another song and then he got a tap on the shoulder. "Can I borrow your date, Cuz?" asked Ranger. Les glanced at me and I gave him my assent.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, while Ranger expertly led me around the dance floor. I shouldn't be surprised that he can dance but it was just strange considering we've never done it before.

"For what Babe?" he asked.

"For meeting your family and developing a relationship with them without you being here and without your consent," I blurted out. I can't even imagine what he must think of me. It was more than slightly embarrassing and I was clearly in the wrong so adult Stephanie needed to apologize.

"My family seems to love you. Why did you develop a relationship with them?" he asked lightly.

"Lester introduced me. I know what you're asking and I guess the first reason is because even with you gone I felt like it was some sort of connection to you. Also, they were so welcoming I didn't feel like I had a choice," I said smiling.

"They do tend to adopt whoever walks through the door," he said grinning. "I'm glad you met them and they provided you some sort of comfort while I was gone," he whispered. He had pulled me closer while we were dancing and with him whispering in my ear I had to remind myself that it was a family party.

"You're not mad?" I asked incredulously. "I thought I would be sent to Antarctica or something for this," I said.

"Babe, I wanted to introduce you a long time ago. But I would be damned if I was going to bring around another man's woman. I needed you to be done with Morelli," he said quietly.

"I'm done with Morelli," I replied wondering how are on and off relationship effected Ranger.

"Are you done with me?" he pulled me closer and asked.

The music ended and we broke apart.

"Jury is still out" I said as I tried to keep my voice from wavering.

I really did love him. But was there just too much damage to ever be repaired? I haven't told him yet about me and Bobby. Maybe that would be the final nail in our coffin. I told myself I would tell him everything if we were actually together but I wasn't going to give him the idea that he had the right to know what was going on in my sex life if we weren't together.

I spent the rest of the evening socializing with Ranger's family. The entire night I noticed that I was never once out of Ranger's sight, whether he was standing behind me in a conversation or across the room. After saying my goodbyes, Les was guiding me to his car when Ranger walked out of the house.

"Do you mind?" was all Ranger needed to say.

"I'm cool as long as she is," Les replied. He looked at me and I nodded.

Ranger threw his arm around me guiding me to his car and whispered "Thank you," in my ear.

I was quiet on the drive home. "You seem uncomfortable around me. You've never been uncomfortable," he commented.

"I've always know where we've stood. I don't know anymore and it makes me nervous," I explained.

"You're not scared of me are you?" he asked quietly.

"God no! Ranger, I know you would never hurt me. At least physically" I said. I couldn't help but add that. We both know he's hurt me before.

He pulled into my apartment building and parked. To my surprise he got out of the car with me. My eyebrows rose. "I know how to check my apartment. Cal showed me," I assured him.

"I'd like to come in and talk to you. I will only come in if you give me permission," he asked. This is weird. Ranger doesn't usually ask my permission, he would just pick the lock and make me listen to him until he satisfied.

"Please," he added.

_Well fuck. He always gets me when he asks nicely._ Maybe it's the burg manners I grew up with. Please really is a magic word especially from a guy who never uses it.

"Alright," I said leading him to my door. Before entering I turned around and added "If I ask you to leave I want your word that you will."

"You have my word," he responded.

I let us in and grabbed to beers from the fridge and we sat down at my small table.

"My life is going to be changing Babe," he started. "This was my last extended mission. I'm needed here running my business. I'm not saying I'll never go into the wind again, but I can pick and choose my missions and I wouldn't take anything longer than a couple of weeks. My life is going to become more normal and more stable. I'm looking forward to spending more time with my family and continuing to work on my relationship with Julie. I was also hoping to spend more time with you," he said taking my hand.

I rubbed my face. "Why did you say 'I know'? Bobby and Lester had a fucking blast with that one," I asked.

"So I heard," his face darkening dangerously. _Shit._

"I'd like to explain if you can let me without interrupting," I said as calmly as I could manage. He nodded.

"When I told you how I felt and you said I know. I took it as you've always known that I loved you and you just didn't return those feelings. Bobby and Lester came over and checked on me and pointed out what a joke it was. That's when I realize I've been content to be a joke and I wanted to prove myself. At first, I thought that I was doing it for you or may be in spite of you to show you that I wasn't a joke. Somewhere along the line I realized I was doing it for me. As for Bobby, we started out as partners and really got to know each other. I loved how easy it was to be around him and for him to be able to open up to me. We just grew close and I thought he had real feelings for me. I thought I was finally going to be able to move on from you. We spent one night together and he left without so much as I note and then refused to look at me the next day. I was wrong about his feelings for me. It hurt like hell and was completely humiliating. It also felt a little too familiar to me," I explained giving him a look.

"I'm sorry about the first night we were together. I should have never even tried to send you back to Morelli. I thought I was protecting you. I wanted you to have a normal life and a normal relationship. I thought you deserved it and I knew I couldn't give it to you," he said earnestly.

"I'm really going to need you to stop trying to make my decisions for me or manipulate me into what you think is the best decision for me," I said venomously. "Let's get back to when you said 'I know'," I said with a sigh.

"I shouldn't have said it. I did love you but I wasn't sure if I was coming back this time. I didn't think it was fair for me to say it to you and then never return. I'd rather you hate me then put you through that," he said quietly.

"Which is also the reason you didn't want to tell me about the mission until right before you left? You were trying to protect me?" I asked. I was about to lose my temper again.

He nodded slowly meeting me eyes.

"That's a dick move! Stop trying to shield me from everything! I need to be told the truth. I deserve the truth from you!" I was almost shouting. I tried to take some deep cleansing breaths and calm down. I didn't want anyone calling the cops on us.

"I was wrong. I know that now," he responded.

"Ranger, what the hell do you want from me?"I finally asked. I was feeling emotionally beat up I didn't want to walk around it anymore._ Let's just rip the motherfucking band-aide._

"You," was all he said taking my face in his hands.

He slowly touched his lips to mine kissing me softly and then when I didn't immediately pull away he deepened the kiss parting my lips with his tongue wrapping his arms around me tight. I kissed his back opening my mouth running my hands through his hair. My hormones were jumping but my brain was setting off all sorts of warning signals. I broke the kiss and gently pushed him away.

"I'm not sure what that even means," I pointed out.

"After you left my apartment last night, I thought a lot about what I want. I realized I want you to be mine and I want to be yours. I want to spend time with you. I want to watch movies, go to dinner, I would even take you to the fucking mall," he said with a smile. Ranger really hates the mall.

"I want to go to your parents' house for dinner and dodge your crazy grandmother. I want to take you to all my family parties. I want you to come to Miami with me and spend time with Julie. I want to take care of you when you're sick. I want to hold you when you're sad. I want to make love to you every night and wake up with you every morning. I don't know if I'll ever want to get married again or if I'll ever want more children but I do know I want to explore those options with you. The woman I love," he said. He was looking at me with such intensity it took my breath away.

I've dreamed of this moment. I've dreamed of hearing those words. But somehow I didn't trust them. I was so terrified that he'd wake up the next morning and change his mind.

"I'm scared you don't mean it. Just last night you weren't sure. Maybe we should both take a little more time and think on it," I suggested. My head was pounding and I was feeling really overwhelmed and completely confused.

"Whatever you want Babe. I will give you all the time you need. My mind won't change. But know that while you deciding I'm going to do everything in my power to prove to you that I mean it," he kissed me on the top of the head and squeezed my hand as he stood up to leave.

I heard the door shut behind him. In my hand, he had left the Batman Valentine which I left on his pillow all those months ago. I stared at the simple card flipping it over repeatedly in my hand and for the first time in months, well before Ranger left, I cried.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Ranger's POV

The conversation at Steph's apartment may not have gone as well as I planned. I planned on being in her bed that night and starting our lives together in the morning. She wasn't ready. I could see that now. I spent the past two years explaining to her why a relationship between us would never work and now I was telling her all I wanted was to be with her. I can understand her hesitance in believing me.

The whole Bobby situation did not fucking help matters. As far as she knew, all he wanted from her was sex. That's what she thought about our first night together. I thought that one night would be enough for me. I just needed to get her out of my system. We spent an incredible night together and then the next morning I told her to work it out with Morelli. I saw the pain in her eyes which she quickly tried to cover up with fake indifference.

Between Morelli, myself, Bobby and even that prick of an ex-husband I could see why she was having a hard time trusting. She's been burned a lot and now she was in self-preservation mode. I needed to get her to let her guard down. I know my Babe, right now if I pushed too hard I'd lose her. I needed to back off a little and just try and be there for her as a friend.

I was shocked to see her at my Aunt Inez's. I couldn't believe my eyes when I walked in and she was surrounded by my family holding my nephew. It looked like the most natural thing in the world. I didn't think I wanted any more children but I did love the way she looked holding that baby. I also loved that she called me Carlos. Ranger was a street name. I used it in my line of work and it has served me well. To hear my real name from her lips and the way she looked at me when I was holding my nephew, I knew I still had a chance if I played my cards right.

I made sure to ask her if I could come up to her apartment. Usually, I would just go in and ignore her complaints. I couldn't push her now. After our argument in my apartment I knew she was at the edge when she threatened to stun me. I wanted to knock the stun gun out of her hand and grab her face and kiss her to show her how much she meant to me.

When I saw the anger in her eyes I backed off. I realized that I was so close to losing her for good. I couldn't handle the thought of it. I was pissed off and frustrated. When she exploded at me and started telling what she really wanted I realized that I never really asked her before what she wanted. I always just told her a relationship between us would never work because I assumed she wanted the white picket fence Burg lifestyle.

I can't believe how stupid I was. I knew she would never be happy with that type of lifestyle. She loved bounty hunting, solving mysteries and she desperately needed to be involved. She would never be satisfied being a Burg housewife. It wasn't for my Babe. She truly was Wonder Woman. That's why it didn't work out with Morelli. I was scared she would change her mind and run back to him, but somewhere in the back of my mind I knew it was done for good this time. That's one of the reasons that I found myself getting closer to her before I went in the wind.

Hearing her yell at me and throw all the things that I've said in the past, all my excuses back in my face was like being slapped. She was right. She was right about everything. I thought about how much time I've wasted pushing her away. I was angry with myself when I went to the gym after out argument.

When I saw Bobby standing there the memory of his face on the video when he saw Steph was hurt came flooding back. He was terrified that something that had happened to her. I knew that look. I wanted to hit Bobby. It was an even bigger surprise when Steph punched Bobby in the video. I had to ask why Bobby called her Baby.

I wasn't surprised that Bobby answer was straight forward. We've been to hell and back together. We don't bullshit each other. Ever. My first reaction when he told me that they had slept together was to break his fucking neck.

Then it hit me. Bobby was in the exact same position I was in when Steph was with Morelli. He loved her and knew he couldn't have her. He knew that she loved someone else but he couldn't control himself. He figured one night was better than nothing. I understood that.

I still wanted to take Bobby to the mats to beat the shit out of him so we could get past this but if Steph found out that was just push her further away so I was going to have swallow this. I'm not used to having to do that.

But I'd do anything for that woman.

Steph's POV

I didn't see Ranger outside of work for over a week. At work he was friendly and professional. There were no lingering touches or secret kisses. I may miss those things a little but my anxiety level about working with Ranger again was steadily decreasing with each passing day.

It was Thursday night and I was sitting in my apartment debating on heading to the grocery store or just slathering organic peanut butter (yeah okay, it's actually really good) on my five remaining crackers and calling it a night.

I heard a knock at the door and when I looked through the peep hole I saw Ranger standing there with grocery bags in hand.

"Hi. Uhhh what's with the bags?" I asked.

"I heard you were learning how to cook. I thought I'd see if you were hungry and maybe in the mood for a lesson," he said casually.

My stomach started rumbling loudly. _Shit. Betrayed by my own body. _Ranger gave me a 200 watt smile.

"Yeah okay, get in here," I said rolling my eyes. "So what are we making?" I asked.

"Lamb chops with pesto and green beans," he replied.

"I didn't know Batman could cook without the help of Alfred," I said.

"Lots you don't know about me Babe. We'll work on that," he smiled as he unpacked the groceries.

We started cooking and Ranger started asking me questions about what my training was like and what happened while he was gone. I told him all about working out and the gun range. We talked about clients and I told him how much better chasing skips was going. When I told him about the milkshake incident and tackling Costanza he let out a bark of laughter.

This was so strange. It was like being with Ranger only better. He was more open and was actually talking to me, I think I was finally seeing Carlos and I was completely in awe of the man who was standing in my kitchen. I was loading up the blender with basil, parmesan and olive oil while glancing over my shoulder at Ranger. I was so distracted watching him work I forgot to put the top on the blender.

I hit the power button and pesto exploded out the top of the blender. It went _everywhere_. I was completely covered in green sauce. Not to mention it was on the walls and even a little on the ceiling. _I can't believe that just fucking happened!_

I turned around and Ranger was staring at me with a tight mouth.

"Oh just let it out Batman!" I exclaimed.

His shoulders started shaking silently his mouth in a tight smile with his lips pursed and then it came out. A roar of laughter. Ricardo Carlos Manoso was doubled over in my kitchen while I had pesto running down my forward. _Its times like these when I know god has a sense of humor._

Once Ranger had control over himself. He looked at me grinning. "You want to tell me how that happened?" he asked.

"It's your fault! You distracted me. You come over here and you're acting like a real person talking to me and everything. You look really good and I love watching you work and I can smell your bulgari sent and it's driving me crazy!" I babbled.

He closed the distance between us wiping the pesto from my forehead.

"I'm sorry I distracted you," he murmured his lips inches from mine. My heart rate sky rocketed.

He brushed his lips gently against mine and continued to whisper, "If it makes you feel any better, I can't concentrate at work when you're in the room."

He lightly kissed me again. "Its driving Tank crazy," he whispered and this time really kissed me. I moaned at he pulled me close to him holding me tightly. I opened my mouth for his tongue and I began to feel a slow heat building in my stomach. I ran my hands a long his biceps and down his back, digging my nails in.

_Principles be damned!_ I was about to jump on him, wrap my legs around and demand that he take me to the bedroom NOW, when he broke away. I tried to suppress my whimper. He kissed my nose and said, "Why don't you go get cleaned up and I'll take care of the kitchen."

He turned to grab the paper towels leaving me standing there trying to regain my composure. _I guess the shower massager going to be used tonight …again. _I walked back to my bedroom to clean up on shaking legs.

Dinner was amazing despite the limited amount of pesto we had. Ranger really knew how to cook. We were watching a documentary on sharks (Bobby rubbed off on me a little bit, not that I would ever tell him that) when Ranger glanced at his watch.

"I should probably go." he said.

"Umm okay," I responded. _Please don't_. I didn't want him to leave but he was probably right. I walked him to the door and he placed a soft kiss on my cheek.

"Thank you, Carlos," I said. I wanted him to understand that I was seeing the difference between Ranger and Carlos and that I appreciated it.

When he heard me same his name, he groaned and grabbed face and kissed my deeply. I completely melted into him, wrapping my arms tightly around him.

He broke the kiss and whispered, "You're fucking killing me Babe," and left.

I turned and headed to the bathroom and my waiting shower massager.

XXXXXXXXX

Ranger showed up at my apartment several more times over the next two weeks, we cooked together, watched movies or a baseball game. Sometimes he would stop by and we'd go running. We did five miles one night. I could tell he was going slowly for me but after we finished he gave me a 200 watt smile and said "Proud of you Babe." I tried not to beam and just to give him a nod.

He occasionally kissed me but most of the time he seemed to be trying to refrain from touching me. As attracted to him as I was, I appreciated this considering I was still trying to figure out if us having a real relationship was possible.

Work with Ranger was still friendly and professional. I still haven't spoken to Bobby. I knew I would have to eventually. I think Vince was becoming suspicious. Being partners means you spend a lot of time together and everyone knew how close Bobby and I were when we were partners. I flat out refused to see Bobby the times Vince has worked me so hard that I either passed out or vomited. Each time he looked at my suspiciously.

Now Vince was driving us back to RangeMan and I was trying to tell him I didn't need Bobby. "I'm fine Vince! Just back off!" I whined.

"Bullshit. That fucking skip kicked you in the ankle and you went down. Bobby should at least look at it," Vince said evenly.

"It's fine! It's just a little sore and I want to point out that I was still the one to get that asshole!" I said, still whining.

"Yes, it was a very nice tackle," he conceded. Vince can be a patronizing bitch sometimes. "I'll tell you what, you tell me the truth about why you don't want to see Bobby and I won't make you go," he said.

"Take me to see Bobby," I grumbled.

"Ha! Oh shit. It must be something really bad!" cackled Vince.

I shot him the Burg glare and he laughed harder. I wish people were scared of me like they were scared of Ranger. Nope, when I get mad people (especially the Merry Men) think I'm "funny." _Stupid Vince. Stupid skip. Stupid ankle. Stupid Bobby._

We pulled up to RangeMan and Vince jumped out and came to help me out of the truck. I took a small step and had to tighten all my muscles to suppress a shout.

"Alright, enough of this," Vince said as he scooped me up in his arms and carried me to the elevator.

Normally, I would love to be carried in a big strong sexy man's arms. But this man was taking me to see Bobby who I didn't want to see and I especially didn't want him to see me looking vulnerable.

"I can walk! Put me down," I commanded.

"No. You can probably walk but it would take you an hour to hobble there and I don't feel like waiting an hour," he replied completely ignoring my attitude.

"Yo! Bobby!" he called out as we approached Bobby's office. Bobby stuck his head out and came rushing over to us.

"What the hell happened? Are you alright?" he asked looking me up and down in a frantic manner.

"She's fine. Skip kicked her in the ankle and took her down. I've gotta run. I have monitor duty. Can you take it from here?" Vince asked Bobby completely ignoring the person who he was holding.

"Yes, I'll take her," Bobby said taking me out of Vince's arms and cradling me delicately to his chest.

"Take care of the ankle Baby Doll," Vince said dropping a kiss on my forehead and heading to the elevators.

"I can walk!" I pointed out to Bobby.

"I'm sure you can Gorgeous, but I would feel better if I took you and looked at that ankle first," he said calmly.

I hated how reasonable he was being. I wanted him to be a dick so I could be a giant bitch and not look completely crazy. I'll probably still be a bitch but now I'm going to look crazy.

Bobby gently set me on the padded table and took off my boot and sock and rolled up my pants. He carefully examined my ankle and was pointing and flexing my foot and twisting to see when and where it hurts. I was avoiding his eyes.

"This would be easier if you would talk to me," he said.

"Yeah I forgot. I was the one who decided we weren't speaking," I said. Okay, so I was being petty. He was trying to do his job but the guy got close to me, slept with me and then snuck out of my apartment. Two months later and I still saw red every time I thought about it.

"I'm sorry Steph. I'm so sorry about everything," he said quietly.

"Can you just tell me why?" I finally asked. "Why couldn't you just go pick up a random at a club. Why me?" I asked.

Bobby rubbed the back of his neck and forced his eyes to meet mine. "Because I fell for you and I shouldn't have. I knew how you felt about Ranger and I couldn't stand the thought of being with you and then losing you as soon as he came back and you realized you weren't over him," he explained.

"Maybe I would've gotten over him if I was given the chance," I countered.

"Then he would've came home and realized that a brother in arms stole his woman. I couldn't live with that either," Bobby said quietly.

I felt my blood start to boil. "Did he pee on me or something? Seriously, how did he mark his territory?" I said through gritted teeth.

"It's not like that and you know it!" Bobby argued.

"All I know is that you guys all have the same tendency to try and make decisions about my love life for me and the best part is none of you seem to realize how fucked up that really is! I had feelings for you! I thought there was something between us and I was ready to explore that with you. But you decided that it was best for me to go back to Ranger without asking how I felt. He did the exact SAME THING and sent me back to Joe after our first night together. What is wrong with you people!" I shouted.

I jumped off the table and tried to storm out but stupid ankle wouldn't let me and I ended up falling on my hands and knees. Awesome. _So much for not looking vulnerable in front of Bobby._

Bobby came rushing over and picked me back up and put me back on the table. I just glared at him.

"I know you're mad and you have every right to be. But please just let me do my job and look at your ankle," he asked in what I think was a calming tone.

I nodded and Bobby proceeded to examine me.

"It doesn't seem like anything is broken. You have a mild sprain and if you stay off of it for about a week you should be fine. So no field work and your training will be limited to the exercise bike for the week. Tank will be pleased because I think he needs some help around the office. You don't have to use crutches if you promise that you will spend most of the day sitting with your leg elevated" Bobby said giving me a long look.

I nodded.

"Alright, I'll ask Ella to grab you an ankle brace from the pharmacy when she's out doing errands but for the majority of the day I'm going to wrap up your ankle so that it's compressed properly. Are you good with that?" he asked. I nodded again. I really didn't feel like talking.

Bobby was taping up my ankle when Ranger came in.

"I heard you had an issue with a skip," he said mildly.

"Yeah the douchebag kicked me in the ankle," I explained.

"What's the prognosis?" Ranger asked Bobby.

"Mild sprain. She'll be fine in about a week if we can actually keep her off of it," he replied as he finished taping. Ranger nodded while looking at me up and down.

I went to jump off the table when Ranger stopped me.

"No," he said as he picked me up in his arms.

"Ranger, don't be ridiculous. It's a mild sprain and I can walk on it. Bobby taped it for me," I pointed out.

"Bobby also said it would heal faster if you stay off of it. I would like you to stay on seven with me until it's healed so I can help you," he said as he walked with me in his arms towards the elevator.

"Are you asking or telling?" I asked curiously.

"Asking," he replied holding me tighter. I inhaled the scent of bulgari and got all warm inside. This man constantly turns me into a big pile of goo.

"Please," he whispered in my ear. _Shit._

"You don't play fair, you know that right?" I asked.

His mouth turned up in a small smile.

"I'm taking that as a yes," he said as he took me into the elevator and pushed seven.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Steph's POV

Ranger took me to his apartment and gently sat me on the couch.

"Ranger, I really appreciate you letting me stay here but it's really just a minor sprain. If I didn't work here, I certainly wouldn't be getting carried around and it's not like I would call into work over a minor sprain," I pointed out.

"Babe, if you didn't work here, I would personally be calling your employer to let them know you'd be out all week and then I would be findings way to keep you off your feet for a week," he whispered giving me a wolf grin, his lips so close to mine.

I felt my heart stop as heat flashed through my body. I grabbed his face and kissed him. He pulled me close to him and I wrapped my arms around him tight as his hands went in my hair. I opened my mouth and felt his tongue. I was getting dizzy with desire and kissed him back forcefully massaging his tongue with my own.

My brain finally kicked in and screamed for me to stop.

I abruptly broke the kiss, my breathing ragged. "Sorry about that. I probably shouldn't have just jumped you," I stammered.

He tilted my chin up so that my eyes met his. "You don't ever have to apologize for kissing me Babe. You have my permission to kiss me whenever you want," he smiled. I was so flustered. _How is he so in control all the time?_ It's kind of annoying.

"Rest Babe, I have some things to do and then we can have dinner together. I'll have one of the guys go pick up your things for you," he said kissing my forehead.

"Ranger, please. I'll stay here with you, I'll keep my foot up and do everything Bobby said but please let me go to my own apartment and get my things. It's so strange the idea of Cal rifling through my underwear and picking up my body lotion," I asked trying not to sound like I was begging even though I kind of was.

He folded his arms looking at me with a hint of a smile on his lips.

"I think that can be arranged but I'd like continue this negotiation," he said.

I raised my eyebrows and waited for him to continue.

"I will take you to your apartment to get your things but you will be carried to the car and up to your apartment. I will let you pack your own things but you will be carried back here and your foot will be up with ice on your ankle the rest of the evening. Also, for the rest of the week I will be carrying you down to the gym and to your cubicle," he stated.

"Fine, but I will be walking around the apartment and I will be walking to the bathroom and showering without help. It is a minor sprain," I countered.

That got me a full 200 watt smile. "You know me well Babe. That was a smart move because I would have insisted that you be carried and I was hoping to convince you that you would need help in shower," he said. I felt my face get hot again and I began worrying about staying with Ranger. I didn't want to ruin what we were building by rushing things because of my uncontrollable hormones.

I took a breath and composed myself.

"So the deal is that you will take me to my apartment so I can pack my things and I can walk short distances but long ones I have to be carried. Is that it?" I asked.

He nodded.

I stuck out my hand. "I think we've reached an agreement Mr. Manoso," I said.

He raised his eyebrows at me but shook my hand.

"Alright Ms. Plum, let's go get your things," he said as he took me in his arms once again.

As humiliating at it was to be carried around I had to admit I really enjoyed being in his arms.

The past few weeks with Ranger have been interesting. He hasn't been pushy with me but he's gone out of his way to spend time with me. He's seems more relaxed and easy with me but yet he was still the same Ranger I've known for the past two years. I wondered if this change was really permanent. I really liked this Ranger, he smiled more and he was way more talkative. In all fairness, Ranger will never be considered smiley or talkative but this was just Ranger with the happy volume just turned up a notch.

I followed the compromise Ranger and I struck. I didn't complain when he carried me to get my things or when he carried me back to set me on the couch and got ice for my ankle. True to his word he didn't bother me when I got up to use the bathroom and when I showered.

When it was time for bed I told Ranger I would take the couch. I knew he wouldn't let me and he offered to take the couch. I figured we slept in the same bed multiple times before without incident so I told him I'd be willing to share if he was comfortable in it.

I changed in the bathroom and came out and Ranger was already in bed I climbed in next to him careful not to touch him. I fell asleep quickly. He really does have an amazing bed.

I woke up wrapped in his arms. My first instinct was to pull away. We weren't together, I wasn't sure if we should be. It just felt so good to be near him. I found myself snuggling closer.

"Mmmm. Morning Babe," he said holding me tighter kissing me softly on the forehead. "Ready to get up and head to gym?" he asked.

"I'd rather stay here," I whispered.

His eyes widened, "You just say the word and we can both be offline for the day," he said looking me straight in the eyes.

Now it was my turn for my eyes to widen. I would love to spend all day with Ranger I could easily find things for us to do to pass the time in his bed_. But what would it mean? Am I ready for this?_ My mind raced as I sat there staring into his beautiful eyes.

"Too late Babe," he said breaking the silence.

I looked at him quizzically.

"You hesitated you're clearly not ready. Let's go to the gym," he said getting up.

"Ranger, I'm sorry!" I apologized. I felt terrible. _Why the hell did I hesitate?_

He came back to the bed and kissed me softly on the cheek. "Don't be sorry. Please. I want you to be completely sure. I'm not going to rush you," he said.

Ranger and I didn't talk about me hesitating the rest of the week. He never pushed me and every night I would go to bed without touching him and wake up peacefully wrapped in his arms. He never complained once.

It was Friday and I was in Bobby's office having my ankle looked at. "Gorgeous, I think you've actually been following my orders, it looks healed. How's it feel?" Bobby asked me.

"Good, there's no more pain and it doesn't seem to be swollen anymore," I replied not meeting his eyes.

Bobby sighed. "Are we ever going to get past this?" he asked quietly.

"I hope so. I guess I just don't know how to get there. I'm still angry and hurt. I felt so stupid the next day when you left. I had really believed that we had something," I answered.

"We did. I was serious when I said I was falling for you but I couldn't risk being in the same situation Ranger was in with Morelli," Bobby explained softly.

That hit me in the stomach. "What do you mean?" I asked.

"Ranger would do anything for you. He would save you, protect you, help you and then you would go home to Morelli. It must have killed him. I'm not comfortable being second to another man. I know you said you could have moved on from him and maybe you could've but I just couldn't risk being that guy that you ran too when you needed me and then having to watch you go home to someone else. I wouldn't be able to handle it. I don't know how he did it for so long. I know I didn't handle our situation in the right way. I fucked up bad but I hope you just understand my reasoning and can find some way to forgive me. I miss you and I want to spend time with you, even if it's only as friends. I'm hoping we can get there," he said as he gave my hand a light squeeze.

I felt like my heart was breaking in my chest. I didn't know this is how he felt or how poorly I was treating Ranger without meaning too.

"Bobby, I would never want to do that to you or anyone. I never knew that Ranger felt that way. I can't imagine what you all think of me," my voice practically cracked as my eyes filled with tears.

"Whoa, hey come here," Bobby said taking me in his arms hugging me tight.

"Listen Ranger was a complete idiot plenty of times as well. I mean you told me plenty of the things he's said to you and I know there were a lot of mixed signals. The point to this is I couldn't be with you until I was sure that it was completely over between the two of you and from the looks of everything it's not over. Therefore, I'm going to move on. I will always love you and be there for you but I'm not going to wait. I think Ranger really believed at the time that he couldn't have a relationship so he was content with what you both had. I would never be content with that. You are an amazing woman. You're beautiful, kind, smart and funny. Ranger is a lucky bastard that we're all jealous," Bobby said.

With that he kissed me slowly and softly and when I didn't pull away he deepened it. We kissed for another moment before breaking apart.

"Thank you for everything Bobby," I said with a small smile.

"Am I interrupting something?" said a familiar voice. I turned to see Ranger leaning against the wall with a dangerous look on his face.

"Not at all," I replied casually. "Bobby just said my ankle was good to go," I said hopping off the padded table.

I grabbed Ranger's hand and pulled him away from Bobby's office. His face was hard and his jaw was set.

"It's not what you think," I said quietly.

"Explain," he said angrily. _Well, we might be taking some steps back on the whole talking thing._

"I think Bobby was saying good-bye," I explained. "I think we just broke up even though we weren't ever officially together. Please don't be mad," I asked quietly.

"Is it really over with Bobby?" he asked turning my face to his.

"Yes. It's really over to the point where I don't even think I can even be mad at him anymore. He explained his reasoning and admitted he handled the situation poorly. He basically said that he could never start something with me until it was really over between us and I'm not ready for us to be over," I said as met Ranger's eyes.

Ranger's breath hitched in his throat. "You're sure?" he asked.

"I'm sure but I'm still scared," I admitted.

He tipped my chin up and gently brushed his lips to mine. "What are your plans for this weekend?" he asked.

"No plans," I said smiling up at him.

"Have dinner with me tonight. Let's celebrate you being injury free and walking on your own," he asked returning my smile.

"I would love too. But why did you say this weekend instead of tonight?" I asked.

"Because tomorrow night I was hoping you would come to a family party at my parent's house. My mom wants to show off her new kitchen," he responded.

I just grinned at him.

"You already knew about the party didn't you? Did my mother invite you? Without even talking to me?" he asked incredulously.

"Celia texted me on Wednesday about it. I would've never have gone without you inviting me. I just wanted you to ask me on your own accord. I didn't want to bring it up and have you ask me because you felt obligated," I explained.

"Babe, everything that I've ever done for you was because I wanted to. I've never once did anything out of obligation," he said as he brushed my hair back from my face.

I felt a shiver run up my spine. Our eyes locked on to each other, he grabbed me by the back of the head and crushed his lips to mine. I moaned and responded by opening my mouth and pulling him to me. He broke the kiss and I realized we were still outside the gym waiting for the elevator.

"Take me back to seven," I commanded.

"Are you sure?" he whispered in a husky voice.

"Batman, I've never been more sure," I said.

The elevator dinged and I pushed him inside. He immediately started kissing me again. He picked me up and I wrapped my legs around his hips. The elevator dinged on seven and he carried me while I began kissing his neck and biting his ear into his apartment. We went immediately to the bedroom ripping clothes off along the way.

"You're sure?" he asked me once more time.

"If you stop again, I'll taze you," I replied. That got me a grin.

He scooped me up tossing me onto the bed then crashing on top of me, his mouth capturing mine. I wrapped my arms and legs around his body pinning him to me. I always pictured our first time as a couple being slow and romantic, but that's not how I was feeling now. I'm desperate for him.

I pulled off his boxers and began rubbing myself against him. "Babe," he groaned.

"Now Carlos, I can't wait," I begged.

He pushed inside me and I gasped. _This feels so right._ I began moving my hips matching his thrusts. He reached between my thighs and began stroking me. It took me all of two seconds before I came. What can I say? I've been living with him for a week and haven't used the shower massager once. I almost got off watching him dress in the morning.

Carlos came and then rolled off me but not letting me go. I laid on top of him, my head resting comfortably on his chest.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I know," I whispered back. I felt his chest vibrate with laughter.

"You'll pay for that one, Babe," he said.

"Bring it on Batman, I got all night," I replied grinning at him as I watching his eyes darken.

Ranger's POV

Steph and I made love all afternoon. I don't know the last time I was this relaxed and happy. At six she pulled herself from my grasp and walked to the shower. I asked her if she wanted company and she politely declined by rolling her eyes and saying that if she was going to be able to walk at my mother's tomorrow I had to give her a break.

Once she was done it was my turn, I came out of the shower and dressed in jeans and a black button down. I looked at Steph who was dressed in dark tight jeans and a purple blouse. Her hair was down in loose waves, her eyes bright as she drank in my image.

"You always looks amazing," she smiled.

"Babe, you never disappoint," I said smiling at her.

I took her to an Indian restaurant the next town over. It was a dark place lit mostly by candles. I loved to see her face in this light she was so beautiful.

We ordered and talked for awhile. I could tell something was on her mind.

"Babe?" I finally asked.

"Sorry, something that Bobby said to me has been on my mind," she started. "He said something about how I would ask you for help and how you would protect me and then I would go home to Morelli and how that must have killed you. I would never intentionally hurt you. I didn't think you felt that way about me," she said quietly.

"It did hurt but I was also not in a place to have a relationship. Morelli is a good guy who fit the Burg life style and who your mother approved of. I thought that's what you wanted and who you belonged with. I took pleasure in any time I could spend with you," I replied.

"You do know my mother didn't approve of Joe, right?"she asked raising her eyebrows.

I raised mine in response and she laughed.

"My mother remembered Joe from when he was younger and wild, not to mention the Morelli male reputation of being drunken womanizers. She was not pleased but Joe is charming and won her over. Just like I'm sure you will," she said smiling.

"The only guy my mother ever liked was my ex and everyone knows how that turned out. I don't take much stock in my mother's opinions on men," she explained.

"So I'm not just a phase of rebelling against your mother?" I teased.

She threw her head back and laughed. "No! That would be my refusing to learn how to cook," she said.

I raised my eyebrows again.

She sighed. "I did like my ex when we got married. I don't think I was ever in love, but he was a lawyer from a good family from the Burg. We dated for two years and I was out of college so that's just what you do, you get married. Well, you remember how I found him on the dining room table? That day I was out at the grocery store because he was on my ass about being a good wife and learning how to cook. So that was supposed to be the night of my first attempt but I got home and saw him... I felt like after the divorce it was my way of giving the entire Burg lifestyle the middle finger," she smiled.

"So why start now?" I asked.

"I guess I really don't care about what the Burg thinks of me either way anymore. I don't need to be accepted or to rebel. I just want to be happy. You make me happy. My job makes me happy. I love my life," she said.

"Are you still scared about getting involved with me?" I asked.

"I'm scared that it won't work out but I'd rather take the chance then lose you completely. If this doesn't work I'd rather walk away knowing that I tried everything to make it work so I would never have any what ifs," she explained.

"Thank you," I murmured as I leaned across the table kissing her softly.

After dinner we went back up to seven where my Babe proved that she had adequately recovered from our afternoon love making session by initiating another intense round. I fell asleep holding the woman I loved in my arms thinking about how after two years she was finally mine.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Steph's POV

We were walking up the long driveway of Ranger's parent's house when he stopped me. "So what do I call you now?" he asked.

I raised my eyebrows. "Whatever you want. I don't care about labels as long as you're committed," I replied.

"Girlfriend?" he asked.

"It sounds kind of junior high but I think it's the most appropriate answer if people ask if we're together," I shrugged.

"Babe, I never behaved in junior high the way I've behaved with you the past twenty-four hours," he said giving me a small smile.

"I meant to thank you for that," I said as I turned kissing him lightly on the lips. "For last night and this morning," I said giving him a slightly deeper kiss. "And yesterday afternoon, even though I'm having trouble walking. Thank you Carlos," I whispered against his lips.

Once I said his name he moaned and parted my lips with his tongue and pulled me tight up against him.

We were in the middle of making out, completely lost in each other, when we heard a voice. "Carlos, Stephanie!"Maria called. I turned to see Maria running out of the house towards us.

I guiltily dislodged myself from Maria's son, feeling like a stupid junior high school student who just got caught making out in the driveway.

"I'm so glad you two are finally together!" she said kissing Ranger on both cheeks then me. "Come in, come in and see the kitchen!" she said excitedly.

"So much for explaining to people we're together. Seems like everyone already knows," I whispered.

"Babe," Ranger said with a smile as he took my hand. This Ranger holds hands. _I love this Ranger!_

We entered and a saw lots of RangeMan faces. Bobby and Lester were there as well as Tank and Lula. Lula came rushing over to me and hugged me tight he may have also used this as an excuse to ask me if I "hit that" yet. I gave her an "Oh yes I have" look. She grinned at me and squeezed my hand as we walked over to talk to Tank.

Celia practically tackled Ranger when she noticed his hand resting on the small of my back.

"Oh thank god Carlos! I really thought you were going to fuck this one up! I really like her too," she exclaimed turning to hug me.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence Celia," Ranger said mildly. "I wasn't going to let her get away that easily. Although she did have me work for it," Ranger said turning his smile on to me.

"Damn right!" I replied returning the smile.

Celia grinned at us and returned to talk to Tony. Ranger and I walked through the beautiful redone kitchen. Maria and Ricardo were in the center of a group of people beaming with pride. Maria came over again and kissed Ranger whispering her thanks.

Ricardo came over and shook hands and hugged his son. It made my heart swell to see Ranger so happy with this family.

It was an incredible afternoon of drinking, eating, dancing and laughing. I really loved his family and I was so appreciative with how warm and open they were to me.

I was standing with Ranger and Lula when Bobby walked over.

"I think it's time," he said to Ranger.

Ranger gave him a nod and replied "0500."

Bobby nodded and walked off.

"What the hell was that?" asked Lula.

"Don't worry about it," Ranger said mildly. Lula shot me a look.

"You guys are going to the mats!" I whispered harshly. "This is bullshit! Why are you doing this?" I asked.

"Babe, outside," he said placing his hand lightly on the back of the neck guiding me out front. I shot Lula a look and she raised her eyebrows. I'm sure she hurried off to find Tank who would fill her in.

Once we were outside I turned and looked at Ranger.

"Ranger what the hell? After everything we've been through and everything we've moved past you and Bobby still feel the need to beat the shit of each other. What the fuck?" I asked with my arms folded in front of me.

"You and I are fine and we're in a good place. From the sounds of it, you and Bobby are fine now too," he said rubbing my arms. "Bobby and I need to work our shit out now and this is the way we do it. It's the best way for us to get past this," he said trying to explain.

"By hurting each other?" I shrieked. "I caused this. I should be the one to be hurt. What happens if I let you guys each just slap me. Once. Open hand only. Would that be better?" I cringed.

I didn't want to really be hit but I can't imagine them beating on each other.

Ranger let out a full laugh."Only you would be willing to do something so ridiculous. No, Babe. Neither of us wants to hit you or hurt you in anyway. We both love you. Please just trust me this is the only way for us to move forward. Bobby feels the same way I do but we both knew you would freak out so we wanted to wait until you seemed a little more comfortable with both of us," he explained.

"That has to be the most fucked up convoluted rationale I've ever heard! You and Bobby are clearly going to do this with or without my consent am I correct?" I asked raising my eyebrows.

"Yes, Babe" was my only answer I received.

"Well, you both suck!" I exclaimed. _Not my best in terms of maturity or cleverness but that's how I feel._

Ranger grabbed me and pulled me into him as I tried to walk away. He started kissing my neck. "So not in the mood Batman," I said pulling away.

He pulled me back into him and gave a kiss which melted my bones. I moaned and felt my body respond to his closeness. I found myself wrapping my arms around his neck and kissing him back just as fiercely.

"You sure?" he whispered in a husky voice as he planted gentle kisses down my neck.

"You don't play fair Batman," I groaned. _Fuck it._ "Let's go say our goodbyes, so you can take me home," I said trying to compose myself.

That got me a 200 watt smile. _Cocky bastard had me eating out of his hand._

I was hoping after our multiple sessions of love making Ranger would sleep through his alarm. I may have gotten up in the middle of the night to shut it off. Sometime after I did that he must have gotten up and reset it. _How the hell is he always a step ahead of me?_

The alarm went off at 4:40 so Ranger could get ready for his "appointment" with Bobby. I also got up and dressed in gym clothes. He eyed me I kept my face stony even though I thought I was going to vomit.

I tried deep breathes and my "I'm an adult" mantra. Nothing seemed to help that the man I love and my good friend we're about to go beat the shit out of each other because of the problems that I caused. The guilt was sickening.

We walked into the gym and Bobby was waiting along with a bunch of the other guys. Lester came around, sensing my tension and squeezed my shoulder. Bobby and Ranger nodded too each other.

With that I turned on my heel and walked out. _I can't watch this shit._

I stood outside the doors for 30 minutes. I couldn't really hear anything through the thick doors but my anxiety level was high. I just paced back and forth.

Finally, what felt like hours later, Lester poked his head out and saw me pacing.

"Come here, Beautiful," he said gathering me in his arms whispering comforting Spanish words in my ears. At least I think they were comforting he could be calling me a dumb bitch for all I know.

My eyes were wet with unshed tears and I felt like I swallowed a golf ball. I clung to Lester for a moment then let out a sob as he rubbed my back. I took a few deep breaths and composed myself.

"How bad is it?" I asked flinching.

"It's not that bad come in and see that their okay," he said taking me by the hand.

I wish I could say I walked into the gym coolly with my head held high and my face devoid of emotion. Instead, I walked in with Les's hand in a death grip, my head hanging down and red eyes. I was sure my pigmentation was now a sexy shade of green.

We walked into Bobby's medic office where both Bobby and Ranger were sitting on opposite tables shooting the shit smiling at each other. _What the hell?_

"Hey, Gorgeous," greeted Bobby. "Come here," he said when he saw the look on my face.

I walked over looking Bobby over. He had a bruise developing on his face and a bloody lip but he didn't look too awful. He gave me a smile and put his arms around me pulling me to him. He kissed my cheek and whispered that everything was okay in my ear.

"You promise? Everything is alright now?"I asked.

"Yes, Gorgeous," he said with another squeeze and kiss.

I turned and looked at Ranger. He had a cut above his eye and also a bruise developing on his face. I walked toward him and he took me in his arms and held me tight while I inhaled the familiar bulgari sent and calmed down.

Tank was working on cleaning up Ranger's cut. So I let go and moved out of the way.

"Do you still think we suck?" asked Ranger. Bobby and Tank both started laughing. I turned around to see Lester grinning at me.

"How am I the one who is getting made fun of right now? Having two people you care about beat the shit out of each other is not normal!" I pointed out.

That got them all laughing harder. "Well you all suck," I grumbled.

"We're going to suck even more next week," Tank said with a grin.

I froze. "What the hell is next week?" I asked.

Ranger gave me a guilty smile. "It's time for your evaluation. I was supposed to do it right when I got back but due to some…personal circumstances I thought it would be better to wait," he explained.

"You're evaluating me?" I said incredulously. "That has to be the definition of conflict of interest," I pointed out. "Shouldn't Tank be evaluating me?" I asked.

"Nope, it's always the boss man and we have strict standards that he will be adhering to," explained Tank.

"Not that I'm going to fail," I said with mock confidence. "But if I do, what happens?" I asked.

"You don't get your bonus and you go on probation. If you can't pass our standards three months later then you will be let go," Tank said evenly.

"Oh, is that all?" I said. _I was definitely going to vomit now!_

Ranger jumped off the table and walked toward me taking me by the shoulders meeting my eyes. "Babe, I have complete faith that you will pass. You've been working your ass off," he said.

"If I don't?" I asked again.

"Then I get to take over your training for the next three months and trust me when I say there is no possible way that you would fail twice," he gave me a wolf grin.

He grabbed my hand and dragged me out of the gym. "Where are we going?" I asked.

"To work on your cardio babe. I'm a little beaten up so you're going to be doing all the work," he said as he pulled me into the elevator and hit seven. _Hmmmm maybe training with Ranger for three months wouldn't be so bad._

The next week I buckled down and focused. I did not want to fail. I worked really hard with Ram, Vince and Bobby to tighten up all the skills Ranger would be testing me on. I was so worried I would let him down.

I even slept at my own apartment without Ranger to make sure I got adequate sleep. I still wasn't quite able to control my hormones sleeping next to him. I hadn't made it a night without jumping him at least twice, so I figured space was the only way I was going to sleep this week. But I made sure to jump him at least twice during the day. We both were offline at every lunch break.

I would come back to my apartment dead tired. I would shower and then jump straight in bed where I would immediately pass out till my alarm went off around 5:30am and then my day would repeat itself.

On the day of my evaluation I was ready and waiting for Ranger and Ram at the gun range at 0600. My heart was pounding so loudly I figured they could probably hear it as they walked in. I noticed Manny was also with them holding a clip board. _Shit. All I need is someone else watching everything I do. I don't already have enough pressure._

All three men had their blank faces on. I tried to look at Ram who was my instructor and he betrayed nothing. I started to realize this wasn't just a test for me but a test for him, and all my instructors, as well. As if I wasn't nervous enough before, my hands started to shake when I realized that my instructors were being tested as well.

They started out by me picking up each gun and explaining what I knew about each one including me loading and unloading each gun. Manny and Ranger followed behind Ram and I not saying anything or making any sort of facial expressions. I just focused on Ram who was asking me all the questions.

Then we got to shooting and Ram gave me different weapons and told me where to hit on each target as we moved down the line. Afterwards, they brought the targets forward and I wasn't allowed to see how I did. I waited outside the door bouncing on my toes. When they came through the door they all had their blank faces firmly in place.

"Well?" I asked.

"You won't get the results till after all the evaluations Babe," Ranger said with a blank face.

_I mean he called me 'Babe' so that's a good thing right? Or is it supposed to be a comfort as in 'I still love you even though you suck'? Shit._ I took a breath and refused to panic as we headed off to see Vince and to go over weapons training.

Ranger and Manny followed as silent shadows while I showed Vince everything I knew about each weapon on the table that way laid out. Then we practiced with each weapon in front of Ranger and Manny who never said anything. I was sweaty and tired by the time we were done. I searched Vince's face and couldn't get a read.

_Shit! Shit. Shit. Shit. Fuck. Breathe. I'm an adult. Breathe._

Next it was Bobby and I and hand to hand combat training. We went through everything including kicks, punches, holds, fall breaks…EVERYTHING. It took over an hour and I tried to pretend that I wasn't tired but all I wanted to do was curl up in a ball on the mats. Once again neither Bobby, Manny nor Ranger gave me any hint on how I was doing.

"Babe, you have a three hour break and then we do the physical fitness portion. I suggest you go up to seven eat, shower and rest. We'll reconvene this afternoon," Ranger said.

I nodded and headed up to seven. I took a hot shower and ate a whole wheat everything bagel and a massive helping of fruit. I lay down in Ranger's amazing bed.

I felt a presence and sat up. Ranger was crawling in bed beside me.

"Mmm," I made a happy sound as I snuggled close to him. He wrapped his arms around me kissing my forehead. "So how am I doing so far?" I asked.

"Babe, I can't tell you that," he replied.

"Ranger! Seriously?" I whined.

"Carlos, Babe. Outside of work you should be calling me Carlos. We're going to have to have some sort of lines if I'm going to be playing boss as well as boyfriend," he said.

"Carlos?" I asked innocently. "If you get to be boss inside of work can I be boss outside?"

He laughed. "What do you have in mind, Babe?" he asked.

"Why don't I just show you," I said as I broke free from his grasp, pushed him down and straddled him. I heard his breath hitch in his throat as I brought my mouth down to meet his.

"If this is you in charge, I think I could get used to it," he said with a growl as he pulled me back down for another kiss.

Two hours later Ranger and I were making out in the elevator headed back down to the gym. I pulled him out of the elevator by the hand and he quickly broke my grasp.

"Babe, I love you more than anything but not in front of my employees. I still need to be able to scare the shit out of them," he said.

"Fine Batman! I'll behave. Who's working me out anyways?" I ask.

"That would be the boss, Babe," he replied with a hint of a smile.

_Shit._ "Yeah perfect" I said clearly lying.

Ranger started me out on a one mile run as fast as I could manage. I didn't blow it out of the water but it was under eight minutes, barely. Then Ranger stretched me out to see my flexibility. Thank the good lord I took care of some of my hormones earlier because otherwise I'd be in a lot of trouble with Ranger stretching me.

After the stretch we did a five mile run including different inclines and speeds on the treadmill. Ranger ran right along with me on the treadmill next to mine. I knew I wasn't supposed to say anything but it was really so encouraging having him next to me. I held my tongue though. I was not going to embarrass my boyfriend in front of his men…anymore then I already do on a daily basis.

After the run we did weight training, plyometrics and drills. It was almost three hours and we were on the last drill of burpies. Everything hurt. As I was jumping up and down I saw Manny with his clip board talking to Ranger. I also noticed that all the guys began to gather around.

"Last one," said Ranger. I finished and stood up. I tried to get control of my breathing so I didn't look winded. My shirt didn't have a dry spot on it. I looked up at all the guys watching me.

"Ram!" barked Ranger.

Ram came forward and his blank face broke into a grin. "Pass," was all he said.

"Vince!" Ranger called out.

Vince came forward and winked at me. "Pass," he said.

"Bobby!" Ranger shouted.

Bobby came forward and had a full smile. "Pass!" he exclaimed.

I turned to look at Ranger who came forward lifting me off my feet and roughly pulled my face to his. He gave me and incredible bone melting kiss IN FRONT OF EVERYONE.

Ranger broke into a 200 watt smile, once he broke the kiss and shouted, "Pass!"

I screamed and threw my head back while Ranger still holding onto me. He twirled me around in his arms. I heard all the guys cheering!

Ranger let me down and I went and jumped on Ram who crushed me in his arms and kissed my sweat soaked hair. Then Vince grabbed me and gave me a quick hard kiss on the lips and a big hug which lifted me off my feet.

"Watch your hands!" barked Ranger as Vince's hands slid down my back. Vince put me down and I turned to Bobby he hugged me tight, kissed me softly on the cheek and whispered how proud he was of me.

Lester then picked me off of my feet and twirled me around. I was getting dizzy but I was so elated I couldn't care less. I jumped on Tank after and he whispered that it was an honor to have me on the team. I was beaming.

Once everything calmed down, Ranger came by and grabbed my hand and took me back to seven. "How tired are you?" he asked.

"I'm tired but I think with all the adrenaline I could run a marathon right now. Well maybe like a half or a 5k," I said as I realized that my legs were actually shaking a little.

"Too tired for a date night?" he asked with his eyebrows raised.

"Never!" I replied excitedly. We haven't spent a ton of time together this week and I missed him.

"Go into the bedroom and see what I got you," he said with a whisper.

I ran into the bedroom and there was a large box on the bed. I opened it and saw a gorgeous red dress. I gasped.

"There's more," he said getting out a shoe box that had amazingly sexy black stilettos which I would probably break my ankle in.

"Carlos! This is too much!" I exclaimed. "Wait. How did you know I was going to pass? You didn't rig it did you?" I asked suspiciously.

"Absolutely not. Babe, I love you but I want to keep a separation of my business and our personal life. If you didn't pass I was going to tell you that this was too cheer you up and if you did, it was too celebrate," he explained.

"Pretty clever Mr. Manoso," I said giving him a smile.

He told me he had some things to wrap up downstairs and that we'd be leaving in two hours. I was glad I brought my overnight bad with all my tools and I made sure to give Rex a baby carrot and a tortilla chip so he could celebrate too.

I showered, shaved, waxed, tweexed and lotioned the hell out of my body. I was feeling relaxed and incredibly sexy. I took my time taming my hair into soft waves. I was almost done with my make up when Ranger came back in hopped in the shower.

I put on sexy black lingerie including corset and guarder belt underneath the sexy red dress which I slipped on quickly so Ranger wouldn't see. I wanted to be able to surprise him as much as he surprised me.

Ranger emerged from the bathroom clean shaven and dressed in a black suite. He looked incredible and I had to make sure that I wasn't drooling on myself.

I buckled my new shoes and stood up as I reached for my black clutch. I turned and he was staring at me. "You are so beautiful," he said in an awed voice.

"You clean up pretty well yourself Batman." I said. _Understatement says what?_

He stopped me and handed me a small velvet jewelry box.

"Ranger," I said as I shook my head.

"Carlos," he whispered back as he opened the box for me revealing a beautiful diamond bracelet.

"I can't accept this! It's too much," I whispered.

"Babe, this was your last birthday gift which I didn't have the balls to give you," he explained.

I felt my heart stop; I turned to look at him. "Thank you Carlos," I whispered.

"You're welcome Babe," he said with a small smile.

Carlos took me to dinner at this incredible French place where they had a band playing. We ate, danced and talked. Ranger wasn't big on words but Carlos was incredibly charming. I was glowing throughout the night.

On our way back we took a strange turn. "Carlos? Where are we going?" I asked.

"You'll see Babe," was all he said.

We pulled up to a beautiful gated house. It was large but not ostentatious. My breath caught in my throat.

"Are we at the batcave?" I asked.

"Babe," he said followed by a smile.

He parked the car and let us into the house. I was in awe walking around this gorgeous house.

"We have some unfinished business Babe," he said.

I reached up and kissed him passionately.

He moaned. "We'll be getting to that but that's not what I was referring too," he said as he broke our kiss.

He took me into the master bedroom and opened a drawer and pulled out yoga pant and a tank top for me.

"Change and meet me downstairs in the den," he said.

I was slightly flustered but I changed leaving the lingerie underneath hoping that he'll keep his promise about getting to that part later.

I found him in the den in a simple white undershirt and basketball shorts.

"What are we doing?" I asked completely confused as Carlos pulled me down next to him and turned on the TV.

I let out a cackle when I saw he set up Empire Strikes Back on the TV.

"Seriously?" I asked.

"It's time you really saw it Babe," was his answer.

I snuggled against him and complied. We watched the whole movie which I actually really liked and once it was over he turned to me and raised his eyebrows.

"Learn anything Babe?" he asked.

"Maybe," I responded.

"Babe," he pushed for an answer.

"Okay! Han Solo really did love Leia when he said 'I know'," I admitted.

"Yes he did," Carlos replied.

I sighed.

"Can we compromise and still acknowledge that it was a dick move?" I asked.

"What do I get out of this?" he asked.

I bit my lip and sat for a moment. I stood up and stripped off the tank top and yoga pants to reveal my lingerie. His eyes went wide and darkened.

"It was a complete dick move," he agreed in a husky voice.

I straddled him on the couch. "I love compromising with you," I whispered.

The End!


End file.
